'We'll be hard pushed to experience a better week'

From Honeysuckle's emotional farewell to Constitution Hill's nine-length victory and a Gold Cup to relish, this was an unforgettable Cheltenham Festival.  

- Marcus Armytage

Racing’s golden hour

Even a Hollywood scriptwriter couldn’t have penned as great a story as unfolded on Cheltenham’s opening day

Cheltenham Festival, Glos

THE Cheltenham Festival will be hard pushed ever to better this year’s running – it had something of everything. But racing will be lucky if it can ever produce another hour to match the one given to us on Tuesday by Constitution Hill in the Unibet Champion Hurdle and, on her swansong, Honeysuckle in the Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle – Hollywood scripts are not that good.

Constitution Hill is on course to become the greatest, most able horse I have written about in 35 years. He is just so much better than anything else around, past and present. He finds it so easy that beating State Man, the best hurdler in Ireland and unbeaten in two seasons, by nine lengths – with Nico de Boinville apologising to those who backed him to win by 10 lengths or more because he didn’t ride him out – puts him in a Frankel-esque league of his own among jumpers.

“You can do anything with this horse,” said trainer Nicky Henderson. “You could jump a fence, you could go three miles. He’s had six races and has barely come off the bridle, but it won’t last forever so enjoy it while we’ve got it. Sprinter Sacre did amazing things for us, but this horse is in those echelons after six races.”