Oisin Murphy in pole position to partner Constitution Hill at Southwell

Nicky Henderson has revealed it is “quite possible” champion jockey Oisin Murphy will ride Constitution Hill when he makes his Flat debut at the end of February.

Flat Debut Preparations Intensify

The former champion hurdler has fallen in three of his last four outings and Henderson and owner Michael Buckley are keen to see if he has a future on the level.

A £40,000 mile-and-a-half race has been put on as part of the Friday Night Live series, and Buckley has been in conversation with Murphy about the mount. Rob Hornby is another name in the mix.

Henderson told Unibet: “I’m sure many of you have seen the video of Constitution Hill having his stalls practice this week and everything seems to be going well in that department. He’s also going to do some schooling with Yogi Breisner next week, so we’re definitely keeping him busy!

“I think the objective in running him at Southwell is so I can hopefully see what potential he has for racing on the Flat, and if we can go further down that route.

Top Pilot Linked To Mount

“He is in great form and if it continues that way, he will definitely run on February 20 and that will then tell us what future he has, or if we have to start thinking again.

“There has been much speculation as to who will ride him at Southwell and I can tell you that no decision has been made, except to say that Michael Buckley has been in discussions with Oisin Murphy. Obviously we’ll have to see where he is at the time, but if he’s available, it’s quite possible he could ride.

“If that wasn’t to be the case, we have Rob Hornby who rides out for us on occasions and rode at the Newbury gallops morning in November. He’s a very good jockey, although I don’t think we’ll be short of applicants!”