Constitution Hill lameness could clear up in 'three weeks or three days' says Nicky Henderson after receiving scan results

Sir Gino remains "very possible" for next Saturday's BetMGM Fighting Fifth Hurdle while stablemate Constitution Hill is not guaranteed to have recovered from an unusual cause of lameness in time to be trained for the Ladbrokes Christmas Hurdle.

Nicky Henderson gave an update on his two stable stars after a battery of tests had been run on Constitution Hill, concluding that bruising on his pastern was touching a nerve, an issue which the trainer said came as a novelty to his vet.

"He had a long day yesterday starting with x-rays which showed nothing, which you've got to be pleased about, and there was nothing to see anywhere," said Henderson.

"He also had an ultrasound and an MRI. The MRI scan revealed there's a bit of bruising in the pastern and it appears on that MRI that it's touching a nerve. No part of the mechanism is injured at all. There's no damage to anything – no tendons or ligaments are affected, but he's still lame."

With Newcastle now off the agenda Henderson would like to aim Constitution Hill at the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton on December 26, though a lot will depend on how quickly the lameness clears up.

"He was markedly better by yesterday evening, but it's touching a nerve," said Henderson. "Our vet says in 40 years practising he has never seen this. The obvious question for them was how long is this going to take?

"Their opinion was a maximum of three weeks, which would not get us to Kempton. The minimum could maybe be three days, but there's nothing we can do and we can't hurry it up."

With Constitution Hill ruled out of the Fighting Fifth, Sir Gino would now be the headline attraction for the Grade 1, although the trainer said he would need to work last season's Aintree winner again before committing him to a trip to Newcastle.

Sir Gino outpointed Constitution Hill in a public gallop at Newbury last Tuesday.

Sir Gino: will work on Sunday with a view to running in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle next weekend. Credit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

"We've got Iberico Lord for the race at Kempton on Monday," said Henderson. "Two and two doesn't make four in this simple game. He'll do a piece of work almost certainly tomorrow morning. All being well, it would be the idea that we'll try and go to Newcastle."

The race sponsors marginally prefer Mystical Power at even money over Sir Gino, who is an 11-10 chance, though news that he will not be going to Kempton may yet see a change at the head of the market.

Monday's Kempton race could still be a pretty informative contest, with Iberico Lord – who is rated 144 over hurdles after winning two of the biggest handicaps of last season, the Greatwood and the Betfair – set to take on the Harry Fry-trained Gidleigh Park in a field of four over a trip of 2m2f.

BetMGM Fighting Fifth Hurdle (Newcastle, November 30)
Paddy Power: 10-11 Mystical Power, 6-5 Sir Gino, 11-2 Brentford Hope, 10 Salver, 14 Brighterdaysahead, 16 bar

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