Last-minute jitters as long-term backers of Constitution Hill wait to see if they get paid

It's terribly difficult, being an Irish trainer during the Cheltenham Festival. I was only saying as much to Gordon Elliott on Monday morning as we stood in the pull-up area beyond the winning post, squelching in the mud that could not have been expected a couple of weeks ago.

When there are locally-trained horses of the calibre of Constitution Hill, who's been odds-on for the Champion Hurdle since November, or Shishkin, hot favourite for Thursday's Ryanair, it's asking a lot for people to go to the trouble and expense of bringing their horses over to compete against such monsters. 

This is the moment of truth for Constitution Hill, who seems to have been 4-11 for months. In fairness, it's a bigger price than you could have got for either of his two races this winter, in which he faced Epatante and others who had no right to lay a glove on him.