Lexus Melbourne Cup |
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| Group 1 Handicap, Flemington 04:00 (UK time) A$ 10,000,000 3yo plus, 2m |
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There are few questions in National Hunt racing that carry the emotional voltage of this one: will Constitution Hill attempt to reclaim his Unibet Champion Hurdle crown?
For now, the answer remains suspended somewhere between hope and apprehension. What is clear, however, is that his horizons may stretch far beyond Prestbury Park. Owner Michael Buckley has identified the Melbourne Cup as a potential end-of-year dream, an ambition that would once have seemed fanciful for a horse whose brilliance over hurdles defined an era.
Well that was emotional! What an enormous pleasure to see Constitution Hill put on a magnificent display to make a winning debut on the flat by almost 10 lengths. So happy for his owner Michael Buckley.pic.twitter.com/6vByBbE5Gh
— Nicky Henderson (@sevenbarrows) February 20, 2026
The narrative took an unexpected turn at Southwell on February 20. After three falls in his last four starts over obstacles, the pre-eminent star of the winter game switched codes under the floodlights and delivered a performance on the Flat that was as emphatic as it was cathartic. In the hands of Oisin Murphy, Constitution Hill brought the house down, his engine undimmed, his appetite for competition undiminished.
Trainer Nicky Henderson indicated on Saturday that further schooling would follow in the coming days under the watchful eye of Yogi Breisner, the revered jumping consultant, before any definitive decision is made regarding Cheltenham, now little more than a fortnight away. It is, by Buckley’s own admission, a choice fraught with consequence.
“I’m due to go to Cheltenham on the Tuesday and if he runs it will be very, very hard on my heart, and if he doesn’t run and something else wins I’m going to think we could have won that race,” said Buckley.
“I really don’t want to sound disrespectful, but whatever those (other Champion Hurdle) horses do none of them have been winning by 20 lengths or breaking track records, so I’m going to think we could have won it.
“The question is do I want to watch a race that’s hard on my head or hard on my heart, because it’s going to be hard on one of them which ever way we go.
“The horse is going to do this schooling this week. I said to Nicky on Saturday, and it’s the third weekend in a row that I’ve done so, if you could make a decision now, by yourself, what would you do – and you go round and round in circles and you never get an answer to anything, bless him.
“I know how he feels We are both decent people I think and we certainly care like hell about our horses. We don’t want to see the horse fall or do something that threatens his very existence and we certainly want to do something that hurts Nico (de Boinville).
“We don’t want to do something that disappoints everybody, most of all ourselves, but on the other hand you can see how much the horse is loved and people would like to see him run.”
There is, in those words, the essential tension of modern racing: competitive instinct measured against responsibility. Buckley’s candour reveals not indecision but care.
He believes over-confidence has been at the root of Constitution Hill’s recent mishaps, a champion so used to domination that restraint became optional.
“I think when he fell (in last year’s Champion Hurdle) it was such a shock it’s blown his mind in some ways and Nicky’s now been telling everybody that Yogi Breisner has been with him and gone right back to basics with the horse, with Nico riding him all the time.
“I’ve got to say, on the videos I’ve seen, they look like a unit in a way that latterly they haven’t. I think if you look at his (jumps) races lately, the horse has decided to take over regardless of circumstance or common sense or what jockeys try to tell a horse to do – the horse has just decided to take off whenever he feels like it.
“I think he’s the best hurdler around and has been for some years. I never say that because it’s a bit diminishing for other people, but everyone tells me he is, so I might as well say he is!
“He is an extraordinary horse – he’s super talented, not just talented.
“I think he became over-confident and I think he has a right to feel over-confident – look at what he did on Friday.”
That Friday performance, electric and controlled in equal measure, has inevitably fuelled thoughts of a Flat campaign. Whether Cheltenham features in the immediate script or not, Buckley’s gaze is already drifting further afield.
“I did say to Nicky ‘can we agree on one thing, whatever we decide about Cheltenham, let’s for the rest of this year concentrate on a Flat campaign’.
“For me, if he doesn’t run (in the Champion Hurdle), I don’t see him running over hurdles again this year – that’s 2026.
“But if he ran and let’s say he fell – and God forbid he does that – he would never run over hurdles again ever. If he ran and won it would be a hell of a swansong (over obstacles) and it would put a few demons to bed for me, I’ve got to say.
“I think the horse should be running around about the end of August or beginning of September, either in the Ebor (at York), or there’s a race at Goodwood, or in the Irish St Leger, with a view to going to Melbourne.
“If you were asking me what I’d like to do, that is what I’d like to aim at.”
The Melbourne Cup in November now glimmers as brightly as any Cheltenham Festival prize. From the Cotswolds to Flemington is a journey few would have predicted for a horse once defined solely by hurdling supremacy.
For the moment, the immediate decision looms. Head or heart. Risk or redemption. Whatever path is chosen, Constitution Hill has already ensured that the conversation extends well beyond one Tuesday in March.
Lexus Melbourne Cup 2025 (Group 1 Handicap)
A$ 10,000,000
3yo plus, 2m (3200 Metres)
24 ran
Going: Good to Soft
POS. (DRAW) DIST HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY SP
1 (8) Half Yours 5 8-5 Tony McEvoy & Calvin McEvoy Jamie Melham 8/1
2 (20) 2¾ Goodie Two Shoes 6 8-2 Joseph O'Brien Wayne Lordan 40/1
3 (13) 1½ Middle Earth 5 8-8 Ciaron Maher Ehtan Brown 25/1
4 (14) 2½ River of Stars 6 8-2 Chris Waller Beau Mertens 18/1
5 (18) 1¼ Torranzino 6 8-0 Paul Preusker Celine Gaudray 30/1
6 (2) 1¼ Vauban 7 8-13 Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott Blake Shinn 20/1
7 (19) shd Al Riffa 5 9-4 Joseph O'Brien Mark Zahra 7/1
8 (4) hd Absurde 7 8-6 W P Mullins Kerrin McEvoy 18/1
9 (24) nk Changingoftheguard 6 8-5 Kris Lees Timothy Clark 60/1
10 (22) nk Meydaan 4 8-7 Simon & Ed Crisford James McDonald 25/1
11 (7) 1 Furthur 3 8-3 Andrew Balding Michael Dee 40/1
12 (15)
¾ Arapaho 8 8-13 Bjorn Baker Rachel King 30/1
13 (17) nse Flatten The Curve 6 8-6 Henk Grewe Thore Hammer Hansen 20/1
14 (11) ¾ Smokin’ Romans 9 8-7 Ciaron Maher Ben Malham 60/1
15 (21) nk Royal Supremacy 4 8-0 Ciaron Maher Robbie Dolan 30/1
16 (10) 1 Valiant King 5 8-0 Chris Waller Jye McNeil 8/1
16 (10) dht OneSmoothOperator 7 8-5 Brian Ellison Harry Coffey 40/1
18 (6) 2½ More Felons 6 8-5 Chris Waller Tommy Berry 40/1
19 (9) 1½ Presage Nocturne 4 8-3 Alessandro Botti Stephane Pasquier 9/2F
20 (3) 1¾ Parchment Party 4 8-3 William Mott John R Velazquez 60/1
21 (1) 1¼ Athabascan 6 8-2 John O'Shea & Tom Charlton Declan Bates 70/1
22 (16) 2¾ Land Legend 5 8-6 Chris Waller Joao Moreira 60/1
23 (5) 4¼ Chevalier Rose 7 8-10 Hisashi Shimizu Damian Lane 50/1
24 (12)
71 Buckaroo 6 9-0 Chris Waller Craig A Williams 13/1
Recent Melbourne Cup Winners
| Year | Winner | Second | Third | Time |
| 2025 | Half Yours | Goodie Two Shoes | Middle Earth | 3:22.46 |
| 2024 | Knight's Choice | Warp Speed | Okita Soushi | 3:19.53 |
| 2023 | Without A Fight | Soulcombe | Sheraz | 3:18.37 |
| 2022 | Gold Trip | Emissary | High Emocean | 3:24.04 |
| 2021 | Verry Elleegant | Incentivise | Spanish Mission | 3:17.43 |
| 2020 | Twilight Payment | Tiger Moth | Prince Of Arran | 3:17.34 |
| 2019 | Vow And Declare | Prince Of Arran | Il Paradiso | 3:24.76 |
| 2018 | Cross Counter | Marmelo | Prince Of Arran | 3:21.17 |
| 2017 | Rekindling | Johannes Vermeer | Max Dynamite | 3:21.19 |
| 2016 | Almandin | Heartbreak City | Hartnell | 3:20.58 |
| 2015 | Prince Of Penzance | Max Dynamite | Criterion | 3:22.15 |
| 2014 | Protectionist | Red Cadeaux | Who Shot Thebarman | 3:17.71 |
| 2013 | Fiorente | Red Cadeaux | Mount Athos | 3:20.30 |
| 2012 | Green Moon | Fiorente | Jakkalberry | 3:20.45 |
| 2011 | Dunaden | Red Cadeaux | Lucas Cranach | 3:20.84 |
| 2010 | Americain | Maluckyday | So You Think | 3:26.87 |
| 2009 | Shocking | Crime Scene | Mourilyan | 3:23.87 |
| 2008 | Viewed | Bauer | C’est La Guerre | 3:20.40 |
| 2007 | Efficient | Purple Moon | Mahler | 3:23.34 |
| 2006 | Delta Blues | Pop Rock | Maybe Better | 3:21.50 |
| 2005 | Makybe Diva | On A Jeune | Xcellent | 3:19.17 |
| 2004 | Makybe Diva | Vinnie Roe | Zazzman | 3:28.55 |
| 2003 | Makybe Diva | She’s Archie | Jardine’s Lookout | 3:19.90 |
| 2002 | Media Puzzle | Mr Prudent | Beekeeper | 3:16.97 |
| 2001 | Ethereal | Give The Slip | Persian Punch | 3:21.08 |
| 2000 | Brew | Yippyio | Second Coming | 3:18.68 |
| 1999 | Rogan Josh | Central Park | Lahar | 3:19.64 |
| 1998 | Jezabeel | Champagne | Persian Punch | 3:18.59 |
| 1997 | Might And Power | Doriemus | Markham | 3:18.33 |
| 1996 | Saintly | Count Chivas | Skybeau | 3:18.80 |
| 1995 | Doriemus | Nothin’ Leica Dane | Vintage Crop | 3:27.60 |
| 1994 | Jeune | Paris Lane | Oompala | 3:19.80 |
| 1993 | Vintage Crop | Te Akau Nick | Mercator | 3:23.40 |
| 1992 | Subzero | Veandercross | Castletown | 3:24.70 |
| 1991 | Let’s Elope | Shiva’s Revenge | Magnolia Hall | 3:18.90 |
| 1990 | Kingston Rule | The Phantom | Mr Brooker | 3:16.30 |
| 1989 | Tawrrific | Super Impose | Kudz | 3:17.10 |
| 1988 | Empire Rose | Natksi | Na Botto | 3:18.90 |
| 1987 | Kensei | Empire Rose | Rosedale | 3:22.00 |
| 1986 | At Talaq | Rising Fear | Sea Legend | 3:21.70 |
| 1985 | What A Nuisance | Koiro Corrie May | Tripsacum | 3:23.00 |
| 1984 | Black Night | Chagemar | Mapperley Heights | 3:18.90 |
| 1983 | Kiwi | Noble Comment | Mr Jazz | 3:18.90 |
| 1982 | Gurner’s Lane | Kingston Town | Noble Comment | 3:21.20 |
| 1981 | Just A Dash | El Laurena | Flashing Light | 3:21.20 |
| 1980 | Beldale Ball | My Blue Denim | Lover Bandit | 3:19.80 |
| 1979 | Hyperno | Salamander | Red Nose | 3:21.80 |
| 1978 | Arwon | Dandaleith | Karu | 3:24.30 |
| 1977 | Gold And Black | Reckless | Hyperno | 3:18.40 |
| 1976 | Van Der Hum | Gold And Black | Kythera | 3:34.10 |
| 1975 | Think Big | Holiday Waggon | Medici | 3:29.60 |
| 1974 | Think Big | Leilani | Captain Peri | 3:23.10 |
| 1973 | Gala Supreme | Glengowan | Daneson | 3:19.50 |
| 1972 | Piping Lane | Magnifique | Gunsynd | 3:19.30 |
| 1971 | Silver Knight | Igloo | Tails | 3:19.50 |
| 1970 | Baghdad Note | Vansittart | Clear Prince | 3:19.70 |
