Constitution Hill (Blue Bresil) features among 10 entries for Saturday's Dubai Duty Free Finest Surprise Stakes at Newbury, with the multiple Group winners Al Aasy (Sea The Stars), Convergent (Fascinating Rock) and Pride Of Arras (New Bay) headlining the potential opposition as the former Champion Hurdle hero prepares for the toughest test yet of his Flat career.
Trained by Nicky Henderson for owner Michael Buckley, Constitution Hill is unbeaten in two starts since switching codes, first running out the nine-and-a-half-length winner of a novice at Southwell in February and then defying a 7lb penalty to follow up by two lengths in a similar event at Kempton last month.
The nine-year-old was given an official rating of 101 in the aftermath of that Kempton win which, admittedly, leaves him with plenty to find against the younger legs of Convergent and Pride Of Arras on Saturday. Karl Burke's Convergent, for example, is rated 116 following his success in last year's G2 Prix du Conseil de Paris, while fellow four-year-old Pride Of Arras, who won the G2 Dante Stakes and G2 Great Voltigeur Stakes in 2025, has a rating of 115.
Then, there's the William Haggas-trained Al Aasy, who is also in veteran territory as the second nine-year-old in the potential line-up. Five years on from his victory in Saturday's Group 3, he too has a rating of 115, having shown that he still retains a high level of ability when gaining an eighth career victory at this level in last year's Glorious Stakes at Goodwood.
Angus Gold, racing manager for Al Aasy's owners, Shadwell, said, “I spoke to William briefly at the weekend and he said that the plan at the moment is to run him on Saturday, so hopefully he'll be there the old boy.
“Obviously, he's a year older and you never quite know if they're still as good, but the signs at home have been good and he'll obviously be fresh, so we'll see how we get on.”
Gold added, “Constitution Hill is a superstar of a horse but, like Al Aasy, he's also nine years old. Everyone is expecting and there's so much on his shoulders. I admire him enormously and I hope he runs a really good race against these better horses.”
Constitution Hill is currently a general 4/1 shot to maintain his unbeaten Flat record at Newbury, with Al Aasy, Convergent and Pride Of Arras all trading at marginally shorter odds with the majority of bookmakers.
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