Constitution Hill could yet make Christmas Hurdle at Kempton on Boxing Day

The seven-year-old was found to be lame last weekend and was consequently ruled out of this Saturday's BetMGM Hurdle at Newcastle, for which he had been the short-priced antepost favourite.

Trainer Nicky Henderson confirmed on Saturday that a bruised pastern had been diagnosed following various scans and that the issue could take anywhere between three days and three weeks to clear up properly.

But on Monday, the Seven Barrows trainer was able to provide a notably positive update on the former Unibet Champion Hurdle hero, who could yet bid to repeat last year's victory in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton next month.

Henderson posted a video on X, in which he said: "I'm with Constitution Hill in his new house. He's back here. As we mentioned on Friday, we had a fairly mysterious lameness which we couldn't identify, so he spent the day with the veterinarians. First, the X-ray to try to see if there was anything untoward which would have been very unpleasant.

"The ultrasound and X-rays revealed nothing and the MRI scan identified a small area with a bit of inflammation in his pastern - the near-fore - which was actually touching the nerve, and that's what was making him so sore. It would have been very sore.

"But I'm glad to report from being noticeably lame on Friday and Saturday, he's miles, miles better this morning and we are starting some gentle walking exercise today. And I'm seriously hoping we can get back on road soon and continue his preparation which will hopefully now lead us to the Christmas Hurdle.

"Obviously, the Fighting Fifth is out. But the Christmas Hurdle is still realistic, he won it last year so let's hope that's where we can first get him out and get his great career back on track."

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