Barry Geraghty: 'Constitution Hill has developed indecision and it's a really difficult thing to un-train out of a horse'

Barry Geraghty believes the Constitution Hill camp have a mountain to climb to get rid of his indecisiveness following his latest fall in Saturday's Fighting Fifth Hurdle.

After crashing out in last season's Champion Hurdle and Aintree Hurdle, the Nicky Henderson-trained star only made it as far as the second flight on his comeback at Newcastle. He has failed to complete in three of his last four outings.

While Henderson reported Constitution Hill came out of his tumble unscathed, he has put his season on hold. Geraghty, who bought Constitution Hill alongside Warren Ewing as a foal, thinks the falls are the sign of a lasting impact.

Constitution Hill: jumping is coming under scrutiny after three falls in his last four startsCredit: Patrick McCann

Geraghty said: "He was taking a chance earlier in his career but, as soon as he got the fall, I think that has created indecision in his own mind. He didn't pick up desperately long at that hurdle, but halfway through he thought, 'oh, I'm not sure about this', and he tried to drop a leg on the hurdle. It's that indecision, and it's very hard to take that away. 

"You can school at home, jump perfectly in a relaxed environment, but you go to the racecourse and have that energy, that tension, and boom, he takes a chance. It's a really difficult thing to un-train out of a horse, if you like."

While his jumping is the major issue, Geraghty, who enjoyed a fantastic stint as Henderson's number one jockey when riding, has full faith that Constitution Hill's class remains.

Constitution Hill runs loose after his fall at AintreeCredit: Edward Whitaker

Speaking on RTE, he said: "He obviously has the ability, he was a really impressive winner of the Champion Hurdle, he holds the course record on the Champion Hurdle track, so he has the ability but he has lost his jumping technique. 

"It's going to be really difficult to get that back, to get into his head and get him to believe and relax."

Read more:

Nicky Henderson puts Constitution Hill's season on hold: 'He'll have a quiet week and we'll rethink the whole thing' 

Some people may claim Golden Ace is lucky, but Constitution Hill is luckier - and his owner admits it's 'a nightmare' 

'We must be everybody's nemesis!' - Jeremy Scott's star Golden Ace springs another huge upset in a dramatic Fighting Fifth 

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