Constitution Hill Aintree Hurdle Plan Before Punchestown Trip
Craig Jones 
A fresh bulletin from Nicky Henderson over the weekend has led to the possibility of Constitution Hill turning up at the Aintree Grand National meeting in just over a week from now.
The talented hurdler fell at Cheltenham, but is reportedly bouncing and alongside being aimed at the Punchestown Festival, Aintree is now also on the agenda.
The meeting is a three day event in Liverpool, somewhat of a curtain raiser to the jumps season in terms of big events. Also a big betting meeting, there will hopefully be plenty of Grand National free bets and bonuses available as we get there.
Aintree Hurdle Next Target for Constitution Hill
The Aintree Hurdle is a race that Constitution Hill has won before, going on from winning the Champion Hurdle in 2023 to win this race at Aintree a month after.
It's a step up in trip to two and a half miles, which Henderson has said isn't beyond him, even though it's not his best trip, two miles is where he's best seen.
He would beat Sharjah by three lengths in 2023, despite having to take the race up a long way from home.
It seems unlikely that Constitution Hill would face much in the way of big dangers going to Aintree, with none of the other big names set to go to the race, he would be odds on to win again.
This means it could be an opportunity for free bets and enhanced odds offers to be in play, which is something we saw during the Cheltenham Festival.
Punchestown Still on Horizon
The clash that all betting sites and punters would love to wager on would come at Punchestown, in a repeat of the Champion Hurdle in May.
According to Nicky Henderson, a trip to Ireland with his star hurdler is still on, even with a run at Aintree, it's not one or the other.
There are no odds for Punchestown with any horse racing betting sites just yet, but should the likes of Constitution Hill, State Man, Brighterdaysahead and Golden Ace all turn up, based on what we learnt from Cheltenham, the market is sure to be fascinating.
I hope that's right, and would hate to see a situation where Constitution Hill lines up and wins easily at odds on when going to Aintree, and because of that run, is then ruled out of going to Punchestown.
Time will tell.
