Constitution Hill and State Man are both ‘absolutely fine’ after spectacular falls at the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham Festival 2025.
Golden Ace was a 25/1 winner after clinching a sensational victory on Day 1 in a huge upset with the favourite down early on.
Constitution Hill, the 2023 champion who was unable to defend the title last year due to illness, was among the chasing pack with four hurdles to go but fell to dash the hopes of thousands of punters who had backed the red-hot favourite.
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There was more drama with State Man falling at the last hurdle, leaving Golden Ace free to race through and cross the finishing line in first place.
Both Constitution Hill and State Man suffered nasty falls but were seen back up and galloping away shortly after as the race concluded.
The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) also told ITV Racing that both are ‘absolutely fine’, along with their respective jockeys Nico de Boinville and Paul Townend respectively.
Constitution Hill trainer Nicky Henderson told ITV Racing: ‘He’s okay, Nick is okay too so nobody is hurt.
‘Two jockeys and two horses have had proper old falls but they are all okay and that’s the main thing.’
‘It’s tough, I must admit. We’ve actually waited two years to get back here and he was back. You can’t have him any better than he was today but we’ll have to hold him there for a while.
‘But he’s fine, Nic is fine, the other two are fine. State Man actually has the race won, we didn’t get to see what would have happened.
‘It would have been fun. But there you go. But if you play it, you have got to take what happens. We just have to pick it up and carry on.
Champion trainer Willie Mullins said of State Man: ‘It’s what happens. It is [the ups and downs of racing].
‘At least we made the right decision. We don’t need any chat. I’m just delighted he’s okay.”
