Cheltenham Festival warm up pleases Nicky Henderson as Constitution Hill hits the track in bid to regain Champion Hurdle crown
Nicky Henderson had no regrets about bypassing the Adonis Juvenile Hurdle with both Lulamba and Palladium, as the duo made a belated appearance at Kempton Park on Tuesday to complete their JCB Triumph Hurdle preparations for the Cheltenham Festival.
The star pair were both among the entries for last weekend’s Grade Two contest, with Henderson stating at his Cheltenham Festival press morning last week that he was considering banking further experience with high-class French import and leading Triumph fancy Lulamba.
He had also highlighted the race as on the agenda for Palladium after the €1.4million purchase scored at Huntingdon on his hurdles bow, but neither took their place in the final line-up for the Adonis, with Henderson feeling he made the right call considering conditions they would have faced.
Lulamba worked over two miles with Captain Morgs and Stayers’ Hurdle hope Lucky Place, while Palladium covered the same distance in company with East India Express and 141-rated Impose Toi, with Henderson more than satisfied by their efforts.
He told Racing TV, who offer the latest Cheltenham free bets offers: “I thought both the juveniles were super. If I’d have brought them here (on Saturday), I don’t think I’d have run them. I’d have pulled them out on the day.
“Lulamba is a bit more like Sir Gino and the colt, Palladium, is beautiful and he will be going Flat racing. He’s just a gorgeous horse and he really enjoyed that.
“He’s going to run in the Triumph and then that will be it.”
Nico de Boinville partnered Lulamba, with James Bowen getting the leg-up on Palladium, although Henderson insisted nothing should be read into the gallop riding arrangements with Cheltenham in mind.
“We’re in the position that everybody had ridden everything and they have done at home,” he said.
“We’ve not got that far in discussions yet.”
However, the main draw was Henderson's superstar hurdler Constitution Hill, the leading British hope at the Festival in the Champion Hurdle as the star looks to retain his crown he won two years ago having been forced to miss last year's renewal.
Tuesday was almost a year to the day that Constitution Hill had a horror show at the track when sent on a pre-Cheltenham workout and it emerged he had mucus on his lungs, ruling him out of the Festival.
“Nico’s [De Boinville, jockey] face, my face and Michael’s [Buckley, owner] face will probably tell you it’s a different day,” Henderson said:
“That’s him and it’s good to watch, isn’t it? It’s frightening to watch.
“It’s pure, raw, natural pace. One minute he’s upsides you, the next he's gone.
“We’ve been so happy [with him] and you’ve just got to blank out last year.
“We knew before we came here last year that the horses weren’t flying and it was going to be harder to get through, whereas today everything has gone perfect."
Cheltenham betting - Champion Hurdle
Constitution Hill 4/7
Brighterdaysahead 2/1
Lossiemouth 4/1
State Man 6/1
20/1 bar
