'He found a leg and got me out of trouble' - Nico de Boinville reflects on Constitution Hill's final-hurdle blunder

The pained glance across to an ITV podium full of riding legends said every bit as much as the apologies uttered to owner Michael Buckley, as Nico de Boinville took instant blame for the misunderstanding with Constitution Hill at the final flight of the Unibet Hurdle that could so easily have undone his hitherto perfect Champion Hurdle prep.

And while many of the 20,000-plus crowd had taken every conceivable vantage point to applaud their returning hero, De Boinville's vague hat tip belied the impression that he thought he had almost made a mess of what should have been a straightforward assignment on the 1-12 shot. 

By the time he had weighed in De Boinville had managed to relativise the momentary blip of Constitution Hill paddling through the last with the serene progress that had preceded it, much of which was marked by slick and, on occasions, spectacular jumping.

The jockey said: "It was good bar the last. He gave everyone a heart attack, me included. He was just half asleep, and I'd say if I'd woken him up after the second-last he'd have been going forward."

"There was no pace and it was difficult to ride in those conditions. You're the pacemaker and he just wasn't quite alive enough going to the last. It was boredom and not paying attention. He's done well to find a leg I'd say and he got me out of trouble. He could have come if I'd wanted him too but I just didn't have him alive enough and he was just half asleep."

In the immediate aftermath of the unthinkable almost looking like it would happen, the firm of Ruby Walsh, Sir AP McCoy and Mick Fitzgerald on the ITV podium struggled to articulate what they had just witnessed. 

Ruby Walsh and Sir AP McCoy on ITV duty at Cheltenham on SaturdayCredit: Edward Whitaker

By the end of the coverage and several replays later, they were able to come to more of a consensus on the miscommunication that caused so many heart murmurs at Cheltenham. 

"I think Nico felt it was neither one nor the other, and if you need a horse to come up off that stride you need to quicken on the stride and use the power from behind," said Fitzgerald. "He didn't do that and Nico was almost too blase."

"He's a top-class jockey and when that happens you think, 'That's my fault, it shouldn't happen'," said McCoy, while Walsh added: "When you get too comfortable, it can happen."

It was valuable insight for those watching, although De Boinville was already well aware of what had occurred. You can bet he will be pretty decisive when Constitution Hill runs down to the final flight in six and a half weeks' time. 

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