Barry Geraghty
Barry Geraghty: We could have a special day at Cheltenham with Constitution Hill
William Hill ambassador Barry Geraghty reflects on Constitution Hill’s nine-and-a-half length victory on the Flat at Southwell.
Nicky Henderson’s stable star is now priced at 7/4 NRNB for the Champion Hurdle with William Hill and the former jockey was clearly impressed at the manner of Constitution Hill’s success on Friday night.
Geraghty said: “That was exciting! He’s something special, he has so much class. It’s what I hoped we were going to see. After all the twists and bumps in the road it’s just brilliant to see him show what he is capable of.
“He has such an engine and always did have, from a young age. It’s been difficult to see him being sidelined and taking falls when you know what he is capable of.
“It’s brilliant for everyone, for Nicky Henderson, for Michael Buckley, for Nico de Boinville, for the horse and the yard, everyone who knows the horse and believes in him. They just want to see him achieve what he’s capable of.
“Lots of things have been questioned, but he really showed his quality tonight. The further he went, the further he went away – he didn’t just quicken once, he kept quickening – he just powered away from them.
“If they can get his jumping back to where it was, we could have a special day at Cheltenham. This is a great story, but hopefully the start of a better one.”
Southwell Crowd
“The parade ring beforehand reminded me of Sprinter Sacre at Punchestown – the crowd were five, six, seven deep! I’m sure there was some atmosphere there especially with the result going the way it did.”
*Odds subject to change – prices accurate at the time of writing*
