Nicky Henderson braced for nervy Christmas as 'unbelievable' Constitution Hill gets set to light up festive period

Nicky Henderson warned his festivities may be spoiled by nerves as Constitution Hill – the potential all-time great who puts pressure on his trainer like few others – nears his seasonal return in the Ladbrokes Christmas Hurdle on Boxing Day.

The master of Seven Barrows said only the great Sprinter Sacre could produce the same weight of expectation as last season's exceptional Champion Hurdle winner, who is priced at extremely short odds after entries were revealed for the Kempton Grade 1. Constitution Hill has five potential opponents for his Christmas Hurdle defence in Rubaud, Nemean Lion, First Street, Sceau Royal and Black Poppy.

Further stress has been added as Michael Buckley's ace was unable to run in the Fighting Fifth before his festive target. The race was abandoned at Newcastle early this month and Constitution Hill was declared a non-runner for the rescheduled contest at Sandown a week later with the ground testing.

The six-year-old is on the path to all-time great status after his nine-length win in last season's Champion Hurdle with the best performance recorded in the Cheltenham Festival's two-mile hurdling championship on Racing Post Ratings.

Kempton will be just his eighth start under rules and Henderson, speaking at a media event organised by the Jockey Club, said: "We’ve got to go out there, go through the motions and he’s got to be as good as he was.

Constitution Hill: clears the last on the way to Aintree Hurdle win

Constitution Hill: six-time Grade 1 winnerCredit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

"We won’t be looking forwards until it’s over on Boxing Day. I’ll be horrible on Christmas Day, so keep out of my way. We do feel pressure but don’t get me wrong, I love having a horse that people want to talk about. We felt the same when Sprinter [Sacre] was in his pomp and looked absolutely unbeatable.

"He’s big, well, strong and came in looking very well. At one stage I was a bit behind because he was so big and took a bit of time to get the shape into him but that’s long gone – he’s had to do a bit more work as it’s all very easy to him. His schooling has been unbelievable.

"We all have to pray he can continue but nothing is certain."

Despite his absence from the track, Constitution Hill has regularly featured in the news since signing off last season with victory in the Aintree Hurdle. Connections considered switching to go chasing before confirming the Champion Hurdle as his 2024 target in September – Henderson hailed the decision as "blindingly obvious" this week.

Michael Buckley's superstar was en route to Newcastle when the Fighting Fifth fixture was called off, leading to a plea from the six-time champion trainer for somewhere Constitution Hill and stablemate Shishkin could stay for the night. Doncaster answered the call, which Henderson compared to the Christmas story of the nativity.

Constitution Hill was declared to run alongside Shishkin in the rescheduled Fighting Fifth the following week before the pair were taken out due to the ground.

"I wasn't frustrated, it wasn't possible for him to run at Sandown and Kempton," said Henderson. "I knew we'd have to sacrifice one or the other and we decided to stick to the original plan. The only thing I find frustrating is that people don't understand it was one or the other.

"He can still go Kempton, Cheltenham [International Hurdle on Trials day], Cheltenham [Champion Hurdle] and the Aintree Hurdle. I would be tempted by Ireland but we’d have to be careful with the ground.

"After Newcastle I needed help and all sorts of wonderful people came forward. Trainers were very kind but had some wild ideas that I was going to leave them there for a couple of months."