Amazingly, it is only six weeks until the highlight of the national hunt season, the Cheltenham Festival.

On Saturday, Cheltenham held its annual trials day, with some leading contenders for this year’s festival in action.

The star attraction on show was Constitution Hill, looking for his tenth consecutive victory.

Twenty thousand people where on hand to witness an almost flawless performance from the Nicky Henderson trained superstar. Sent off at 1-12, it was surely a question of how many lengths would he win by.

Facing just four other rivals, Constitution Hill set off in front and proceeded to dominate the race. Jumping as fluent as ever under Nico de Boinville, he approached the last. For the first time in the race, Constitution Hill survived late drama with his one blemish in the 2m 1f contest.

The crowd took a gasp of the Cotswold air after the 2023 Champion Hurdle winner rattled the last flight. Nico de Boinville managed to stay on board and steered this year’s Champion Hurdle favourite to a three length success.

"It's a pity because he's such a good jumper really and doesn't get it wrong very often," said a philosophical Nicky Henderson. "It's perhaps a sensible thing to do every now and then and to get it out of the way before the next time.

"It's not going to teach him anything and, if you remember, he was very long at the last in the Champion Hurdle a couple of years ago and now he's decided to do it the other way. He just wasn't doing much at the time."

"If anything I suppose he was getting a bit dreamy at the last," said Henderson. "Nico said he's just so fresh and, compared to the rest of them, he hasn't actually done anything and that I need to work him tomorrow. But we know where we are now and, as much as Nico wants us to work him, he'll have a quieter week and then we'll start the engines up again and get ready for the invasion."

Trainer James Owen fears nobody in the JCB Triumph Hurdle after East India Dock cemented his Cheltenham Festival credentials with a convincing ten-length success in the Grade 2 Triumph Trial Juvenile Hurdle.

Owen said: “I wouldn't swap him for any other horse in the Triumph. Burdett Road is a better horse but this one has run only three times and he could go by him. What I like about him is he stays well and he's uncomplicated. He's got a huge future.”

Sixmilebridge enhanced his growing reputation after ending Potter’s Charm’s unbeaten record in the Grade 2 novices hurdle.

The six-year-old completed a hat-trick after pulling away to win by eight-and-a-half lengths.

Elswhere this week, Uallrightharry provided trainer Karen Jewell with her first winner of the season after the 13-year-old won the 3m 3 ½ furlong handicap chase at Fontwell on Sunday.

Regular rider Brendan Powell had been booked to ride the 33-1 shot, but wasn’t at Fontwell on his 30th birthday after his partner Lucy Barry gave birth to their first child.

A significant gamble was landed in the finale at Uttoxeter on Saturday after the Evan Wiliams trained Owl Of Athens scored after being backed Into 85-40 favourite from 80-1 in the morning.

By Peter Moore