NO CRITICISM REQUIRED, Mr. KHAN MAKES A GOOD POINT, THE BARON FAILS & THE PALE SHADOW.

Whether it is the right decision we will only come to know in the months ahead. I, for one, will not question the decision made on behalf of Constitution Hill by Nicky Henderson and Michael Buckley. No matter how well the schooling has progressed at home, as Nicky said at the weekend 'he could undo all the good vibes achieved at Southwell in the matter of seconds if Constitution Hill had suffered another fall.' Whether any of us agree or disagree with the decision taken, I for one believe it is brave decision, especially with the Champion Hurdle there for the taking (as long as he did not fall, of course) and it is a decision we must respect. The positive aspect of retiring the horse from the jumping world is that his presence this turf season gives flat racing an added attraction as Constitution Hill is box office wherever he goes.

Of course, as brave as the decision is, it may not be plain sailing from here on in. A long dry summer may render the experiment a failure. A summer of drought intermingled with cloud-bursts will undoubtedly lead to as many on-the-day withdrawals as was the case for poor Trueshan. It seems that Musselburgh will not be the next port of call for Constitution Hill as the John Porter at Newbury is now the favoured option. 

For what it is worth, I do not expect Constitution Hill to be as good on the flat as he was over hurdles. He is nine-years-of-age remember, he can hardly be expected to improve on his Southwell debut. He will win races on the flat, though I predict (and hope I am wrong) his victories will come in handicaps or at best in Group 3's. It is not like we know what his optimum trip with be on the flat. He would have won the Southwell race at 10-furlongs but can anyone imagine him winning Group races at that distance? Will he even prove effective at 16-furlongs or stay the distance of the Ascot Gold Cup? Sea Pigeon won an Ebor under top-weight, with Jonjo O'Neill prematurely dropping his hands yards from the winning post and giving everyone present a heart-attack. Sea Pigeon, though, was bred to be a Derby winner. If they boxed clever with Constitution Hill and ran him in the sort of races which would get him into an Ebor off 9-stone, you could see him being there or there about, can't you? Sea Pigeon was 7 when he won the Ebor and 11 when he won his second Champion Hurdle. It is doable for Constitution Hill, even the second part of that double!

Mr. Khan of Brighton makes a valid point in a letter published in the Racing Post today. He complains that it is almost impossible to bet ante-post on the Cheltenham Festival these days due to trainers not committing a horse to an actual race, citing ground conditions, possible rivals and 'what the owner wants to do'  for leaving a decision to the last moment. He suggests a horse should only be allowed one entry at the Festival, thereby forcing trainers to commit to a named race. Can you imagine Willie Mullins reaction if Cheltenham acted in accordance with Mr. Khan's suggestion!

Lord Allen, the Baron of Kensington, the proposed saviour of our sport, the scourge of stakeholders, a titan of the boardroom, has hoisted the white flag and said enough is enough and is to become one of the shortest reigning Chairs of B.H.A. history. The stick-in-the-muds, the self-indulgent, self-obsessed, stakeholders, have drawn the longest sword and slain our supposedly conquering hero. Back to square one, it seeems. Another stand-in Chair, another search for  applicants for what must be the most poisoned chalice of all executive positions. Time, I say, for the B.H.A. to take a different course of action, to appoint a supremo, someone with knowledge and love of the sport. No board, just advisors.

Finally, to return to the bone I must always chew on, again sourced from John Lawrence's contribution to the 'History of Steeplechasing', he wrote ' the stewards of the National Hunt Committee have expressly stated that no pale transplanted shadow of the real thing will ever be allowed.' This statement was issued in  light of Mirabel Topham threatening to sell  Aintree to developers, amid debate that the Grand National could be staged at another venue. Oh, how those who served  on that Committee must shift uneasily in their graves on the day when the pale shadow is served-up as the real thing!