Constitution Hill’s Melbourne Cup dream to become clearer at Kempton

Nicky Henderson expects to have a much clearer idea of whether the Melbourne Cup dream can become a reality for Constitution Hill after Saturday’s William Hill September Stakes at Kempton.

The former superstar hurdler was among 101 initial entries for the Flemington showpiece released on Tuesday, and Henderson revealed he has had “various visitations” from the Victoria Racing Club team to set the wheels in motion ahead of a potential trip to Australia.

However, while the nine-year-old has made an encouraging start to his career on the Flat with a couple of low-key all-weather wins earlier in the year, he does not even qualify for the ‘race that stops a nation’ as things stand and his trainer is fully aware he faces a far sterner test in this weekend’s Group Three contest.

“We’ve had various visitations from Melbourne Victoria and it’s not just like we can pop him in a horse box and go and run there like we normally do. There’s a lot of red tape and quarantines and veterinaries (checks) and things like that,” Henderson told Nick Luck’s daily podcast on Tuesday.

“We decided to put him in, in which case you’ve got to go through the process. Unfortunately this is all taking place before he runs on Saturday, and Saturday is going to tell us everything.”

With Constitution Hill’s potential Saturday rivals include significantly higher-rated horses like Gethin, Bay City Roller and Pride Of Arras, Henderson admits he has his work cut out just to get into the money.

He added: “We’ve bumped into an impossible race where I think he’s nearly the lowest-rated horse in it…but this will tell us where we belong.

“We’re taking on Group One horses, which is crazy, but with the ground the way has been it was the obvious place to try and go.

“The first thing he has to do, talking about Australia, is he has to finish in the first three, otherwise he’s not qualified full stop. In a Group Three, you have to be placed in the first three, so he’s got to finish first, second or third and if he doesn’t then Melbourne is out instantly – that is game over. And he needs to go up 6lb or 7lb to have a chance getting into the race, so they are the two principal criteria.

“If he did finish in the first three and he did go up 6lb, then it would be possible, and I know Michael (Buckley, owner) is very keen. I’d love to do it, but we will only know by Sunday morning whether it’s a complete no-no or it is still a possibility.”

While seemingly pessimistic of his stable star’s chances of victory in Sunbury, the Seven Barrows handler could not be happier with his condition ahead of what will be his first competitive outing since winning at the track in late March.

“I’ve got say I would be very, very happy with him – I think he’s back,” said Henderson.

“There’s no doubt he will come on for this race, he’s had his five months break, so I think he’s really well.

“He looks sharp, he looks fantastic in himself and yes he’ll come on, but I won’t have too many excuses.”

Constitution Hill is one of 23 international entries for the Melbourne Cup, with representation from four countries – England, Ireland, Japan and the United States.

Dual Melbourne Cup-winning trainer Joseph O’Brien has nominated 11 horses including the well-fancied Defiantly and last year’s runner-up Goodie Two Shoes, while his father Aidan has a five-strong team headlined by Derby hero Christmas Day.