'It's impossible' - Sandown loss is Kempton's gain as Nicky Henderson reroutes superstar pair Constitution Hill and Shishkin

Nicky Henderson floated the possibility on Saturday that unbeaten hurdler Constitution Hill could still have four runs this season, despite ruling him out of the Betfair Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Sandown because of testing conditions.

Huge interest was robbed from the rearranged Grade 1 when Henderson withdrew the Champion Hurdle winner along with Shishkin, who was set to run in the Fighting Fifth as a warm-up for Ladbrokes King George VI Chase. Joe and Marie Donnelly's chaser will now head straight to Kempton in just over two weeks' time without a prep run after he refused to race at Ascot last month.

Constitution Hill, who runs in the white silks of Henderson's close friend Michael Buckley, also has a Kempton date on December 26 in the Ladbrokes Christmas Hurdle and the Lambourn trainer was concerned a Sandown slog – on ground officially described as heavy after morning rain – was not the ideal preparation.

Constitution Hill: Christmas Hurdle next for the jumps icon

Henderson, who also scratched the exciting Willmount from Sandown's Listed novice hurdle on Saturday, said: "The King George is still the plan for Shishkin and he'll go straight there. It's too close to the race now to be thinking of anything else.

"He'll have plenty of work between now and then, as will Constitution Hill, and they even did a bit this morning; they had to.

"I know people will be disappointed not to see Constitution Hill, but you've got to remember the Fighting Fifth, in its usual slot at Newcastle, almost always takes place at the end of November, not on December 9.

"It's the way it's got to be as Kempton and Boxing Day is now too close. There's no horse, in my opinion, who could run in this ground here at Sandown today and be ready for Kempton in 17 days' time – it's impossible. 

"If Constitution Hill had appeared here, he wouldn't have gone to Kempton, so people at Kempton over Christmas wouldn't have seen him. One had to be sacrificed for the other."

Some changes to the jumps programme this season have not pleased everyone, but the decision to move the Unibet Hurdle, which was known as the International, from Cheltenham's December fixture to the end of January could create a slot for Constitution Hill, who has an unblemished seven-from-seven record, to appear.

Bidding for a second Unibet-backed Champion Hurdle before trips to Aintree or Punchestown in the spring is how the superstar's schedule could then look.

"There's definitely the chance of that Unibet Hurdle because the timing of it is fine for the Champion Hurdle," added Henderson.

The trainer is also mulling plans for easy Newbury winner Willmount, who is 11-1 for the Sky Bet Supreme Novices' Hurdle with the sponsor at Cheltenham in March.

Willmount: missed his intended engagement at Sandown due to the groundCredit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

He cannot join his illustrious stablemates at Kempton as the card's novice hurdle, which Henderson likes to use and won with former flagbearer Altior in 2015, is now a maiden hurdle. 

"Willmount not running does create a bit more of an issue than those other two because Kempton has been a big target for them for a while, and we know where they're going," he said. 

"Under the circumstances, I'll probably have something for the new Tolworth [the Formby Novices' Hurdle that has been switched from Sandown in January to Aintree on December 26], but goodness knows how the logistics will work with such a big meeting at Kempton taking place the same day."

Read more:

Not So Sleepy cashes in on Constitution Hill absence to become oldest winner of the Fighting Fifth Hurdle  

'He was in a mood today and wasn't for moving' - shock at the start as Shishkin refuses to race at Ascot 

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