Nico de Boinville tells TV pundit ‘shove that where sun don’t shine’ after Constitution Hill win
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A top jump jockey took a pointed swipe at one of his ex-colleagues after a big race win on Boxing Day. The return of 2023 Champion Hurdle winner Constitution Hill to the racetrack after a 12 months absence had commanded plenty of column inches. The star hurdler had been ruled out of his 2024 Champion Hurdle defence in March when he was diagnosed with an infection, then suffered a bout of colic.
He was on schedule to return to action in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle last month until that had to be scrapped due to lameness. As a result Constitution Hill was deposed as favourite for next year’s Champion Hurdle with Lossiemouth taking his place. The Willie Mullins-trained mare had made an impressive comeback and there were many who thought Constitution Hill would not be able to live with hern when they met in the Ladbrokes Christmas Hurdle on Boxing Day.
They included former Cheltenham Gold Cup-winning jockey Paddy Brennan who is now a pundit for Sky Sports Racing. Discussing Constitution Hill on the channel, Brennan said: “I can't see him coming back to a peak. No, just no. I think it's impossible to beat something like Lossiemouth. The way things stand today.”.
The doubts expressed about the unbeaten Constitution Hill managed to rile connections and feelings remained strong after his defeat of Lossiemouth on Boxing Day. Winning jockey Nico de Boinville told ITV Racing afterwards, “He felt fantastic. He’s going to improve an awful lot. There is still a bit of ring rustness after a year or so. I think all the credit has to go to the guv’nor because that is some training performance. It’s been a long time coming and definitely worth the wait.”.
