The Fighting Fifth hurdle at Newcastle was supposed to deliver us a treat, but instead, all it did was give us a huge scoop of drama, in the same way that the 2025 Champion Hurdle delivered.

The winner, Golden Ace, was again there at the right time to take advantage of some bad jumping, this time from Constitution Hill and The New Lion.

Take nothing away from the winning mare. She’s been there, took on the big boys, and ultimately, she’s the one that’s jumped round safely to be on her feet at the end.

But from the moment the Fighting Fifth entries came out, this race was expected to give us so much more.

So, what’s up next for Nicky Henderson’s much-loved runner?

Henderson Confirms No Retirement Plans for Constitution Hill

The big news that came out on Monday, in the aftermath of the post-mortem to this race, was that there are no plans to retire Constitution Hill, and the feeling is very much that he will carry on racing.

Of course, on his day, an absolute superstar, but for whatever reason, and there are many theories, he’s just unable to jump properly. Three falls in his last four runs, plus finishing tailed off at Punchestown, it’s been dreadful, and it’s a shame to see.

The second flight was his undoing at Newcastle on Saturday. He didn’t appear to give the hurdle any kind of respect and put one of his feet down long before he’d got to the other side.

That left Nico de Boinville on the deck once again, while trainer Henderson was left scratching his head, and holding back the tears on TV from Newbury, where he watched on.

Flat Campaign to Come Next?

While I’m not Nicky Henderson’s biggest fan, I do think he spoke plenty of sense on Saturday, straight after the race.

He was quick to show that he didn’t really know where to go next, but in the next breath, he started talking about a flat campaign.

Quickly dismissing lofty ambitions such as Royal Ascot, Henderson mentioned running in a two-mile maiden on the flat, to see what would happen.

Now, let’s be honest, anything other than winning hard held on the bridle would probably be seen as disappointing for a horse of this quality.

As a quick fix, it makes a ton of sense. Winning a minor event, perhaps pinpointing something a little bigger further down the line, and just getting this horse back to enjoying racing, would be good for the sport.

He may never jump a hurdle again, and perhaps if that’s the case, we just have to accept it and get what we can from him. A superstar on his day, right at the top of jumps racing, but a shadow of that recently.

There’s also the other option, going the other way, which would be to run him over fences. I’m sure there was talk of this at some point. In fact, I seem to remember he schooled over them a few years back.

If the theory of being too lazy and not giving hurdles any respect is correct, the bigger fences would surely be a cure for this, wouldn’t they?

Now, it’s easy to say that while writing a blog, I’m not the one putting the horse at risk, a horse that’s fallen in three of his last four starts. I don’t think Henderson would do this either.

Whatever comes next, the good news is that it seems we’re definitely getting something next.

I think it’ll be a flat run, probably on the all-weather over the winter fairly soon, to see where he goes and then try and decide what on earth happens next. I’m glad I’m not involved in the decision-making, and fascinated by where we go next with the enigma that is Constitution Hill.