Hear the full interview
From 1:52 in Monday’s episode of Nick Luck Daily. Press play to start at the interview.
Michael Buckley has told those calling for Constitution Hill’s retirement to “wind their necks in”, insisting the former champion hurdler is thriving in his new career and that his adventure will go on.
The nine-year-old finished fifth behind German-trained Stingray in the Group 2 Gran Premio del Jockey Club at San Siro on Sunday, staying on from the rear under Rossa Ryan. Buckley, who owns the horse, said Nicky Henderson’s stable star had never looked better going into the race.
“I have never seen the horse look any better,” he told Nick Luck. “He looked absolutely magnificent, happy, relaxed. His work has been exemplary the whole way up to this. I don’t think Nicky felt he’d ever worked better, so I think we were in good shape to run a good race.”
The plan had been to sit third or fourth, but Constitution Hill broke well and then dropped back. “I’m not giving Rossa a hard time, but I just think it was unfortunate to be so far back,” Buckley said. “But he ran well and, contrary to the hopes of many on social media, we’ll probably have another go at something similar in the future.”
‘He doesn’t belong to us’
Buckley singled out an article by Chris Cook on the Racing Post website that morning. “I think people need to wind their necks in, frankly,” he said. “To come out and say we’re only here because we’re greedy. I mean, the cost of getting horses around the world is pretty fierce. And he’s taking on good horses.”
He also rejected the suggestion that the horse “owes us nothing”. “Who are these ‘us’? They’re just people sitting there making comments,” he said. “He doesn’t belong to us. He actually belongs to Nicky and me and the hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of fans who love this horse to death and will do anything to see him go on racing. So these knockers need to just wind their neck in and leave us all alone.”
“If we were greedy, we’d have said, let’s run him in another Champion Hurdle. That’s greed. That’s not caring for the animal.”
Michael Buckley
Buckley pointed out that the decision to switch to the Flat had been about protecting the horse rather than cashing in. “In his pomp, in my belief, he was much the best hurdler in England or Ireland,” he said. “So if we were greedy, we’d have said, damn the consequences, let’s run him in another Champion Hurdle, because if he stands up he’s going to win, and if he falls over, so be it. We’ve done everything to care for him, to care for his reputation, to care for his legacy.”
He added that the horse is spoilt rotten, with a special box built so he can go out into his own paddock and roll in the grass whenever he likes, and that he came out of Sunday’s race “bouncing around”.
‘More like a seven-year-old’
Buckley believes Constitution Hill has had far less racing than his age suggests. “In totality, he’s had 18 races in his life, of which three ended up on the ground. In terms of mileage, he’s more like a seven-year-old than a nine-year-old,” he said. “And he demonstrates huge enthusiasm all the time.”
“What is the point of retiring a horse, to do what? To go and stand in a field?” he asked. “He enjoys his life. He loves his life. He’s a show person, he likes all the attention. It’s what he was bred to do, it’s what he loves doing, and it’s what he’s still very, very successful at.”
Belmont an option
With the European Flat season winding down and Constitution Hill needing soft ground, a new option has emerged: a ten-furlong race at Belmont on 28 November. Buckley said it was suggested to Henderson only on Sunday, and that a drop in trip could suit after the horse “barely got” the mile and a half in Milan.
“I’m not saying that’s what we will do, because neither of us had heard of it until last evening,” he said. “But it’s five weeks, and my biggest problem with that would be not the horse, but persuading Nicky to leave his beloved Newbury on Coral Gold Cup day.”
David Yates of the Daily Mirror, joining Nick on the show, backed the owner. “If he still has that competitive instinct and he shows the people close to him that he wants to race, then why not just carry on racing with him?” he said.
