“On a day when the sun shone brightly on the verdant fields of jump racing, it was a race that stood out as a shining centrepiece, a veritable feast for the senses. Expectations were high, and the race did not disappoint, delivering a performance that will be remembered for years to come.

The field was packed with talent, featuring a host of top-class hurdlers, each with a string of impressive victories to their name. The Irish Champion Hurdle winner, State Man, had won his last six races. Zanahiyr, last year’s disqualified third in this very race, was back for redemption. Vauban, a superior Triumph Hurdle winner, was also in the mix, as was the Greatwood Hurdle and runaway Kingwell Hurdle winner, I Like To Move It. But it was the peerless Constitution Hill who stole the show, having won all his previous hurdle races by double-figure margins, including the Supreme 12 months ago in a time much faster than that managed by Honeysuckle in the Champion Hurdle itself later on the card.

Constitution Hill was the shortest-priced winner in the race’s near-100-year history, and one of the widest-margin ones to boot. There was never a moment of worry as he went clear under minimal pressure. As someone who has followed the sport since the 1970s and was Timeform’s jumps handicapper for much of the 1980s and 1990s, I consider him probably the best hurdler there has been, on his body of work and not just this brilliant performance.

Of course, there will always be those who will try to crab this form slightly due to the “proximity” of Zanahiyr, who finished 13 lengths behind the winner. But this was partly a function of the pace, which was somewhat tepid for horses of this calibre. The times over the card suggested the ground was predominantly “soft” on the hurdles course but a bit quicker than that on the chase one.

The last-3f finishing speed comes out at 102.7%, a testament to Constitution Hill’s sheer speed and stamina. While his rivals were left to plod home by comparison, Constitution Hill was simply untouchable, crossing the line with plenty more to give.

As a horse racing aficionado and a student of the sport, I can confidently say that Constitution Hill is one of the greatest hurdlers of all time, rivalling giants of the past such as Night Nurse, Monksfield, and more recently Istabraq. And with plenty more to give, he looks set to scale even loftier heights in the years to come.” Simon Rowlands