Nicky Henderson is looking forward to putting a frustrating period behind him by belatedly taking the wraps off Constitution Hill and Shishkin at Kempton on Boxing Day.

The superstar duo have not been seen in competitive action so far this season and, not for the first time, the Seven Barrows handler has drawn criticism from some quarters for his cautious approach.

There have, though, been extenuating circumstances on both counts, with Constitution Hill’s intended defence of the Fighting Fifth at Newcastle scuppered by the weather, and Shishkin even getting to the start of Ascot’s 1965 Chase, only to dig his heels in and refuse to jump off with the other runners.

Henderson subsequently entered and declared his top-class pair for a rescheduled Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Sandown – and while the decision to withdraw both on account of testing conditions left many disappointed, the trainer insists with Constitution Hill in particular, it was a straightforward call.

“You couldn’t run at Sandown and Kempton. It was physically not possible,” Henderson said at a media morning at his yard on Tuesday.

“You knew straight away you were going to have to sacrifice one race for the other and we decided we would stick to the original plan.

“I wasn’t going to put him in at Sandown until the very last minute. I had already said to Michael (Buckley, owner) ‘I don’t think this will work’, but he said ‘let’s see’.

“You could not have possibly run in both races and that is what some people fail to understand. That is the only thing I find frustrating.

“Of course, it is frustrating when you drag him all the way to Newcastle and back again. That was bad luck. That was the original plan and that is where he would have been, and we would have been on the same leg as last year – unfortunately, we are not.”

While Constitution Hill’s preparation for a bid to claim back-to-back Ladbrokes Christmas Hurdle wins has not gone entirely to plan, Henderson is confident the lack of a recent run will not be a hindrance.

He is, though, keen to see how the six-year-old performs before considering plans beyond Christmas.

Henderson added: “He was ready for Newcastle, and he is ready for Kempton.

“We have got to get out there and he has got to go through the motions. He has got to be as good as he ever was at Kempton, then we can look forward.

“He could go to Kempton, then Cheltenham for the International Hurdle, which they have stuck in on Trials Day, then Cheltenham (for the Champion Hurdle) and then Aintree.

“He won’t go to Ireland then (for the Dublin Racing Festival), definitely not, but I won’t look forward until Kempton is over.”

While much is made of Constitution Hill’s apparently bombproof temperament, the same cannot be said at this stage of his stablemate Shishkin following his much publicised refusal in Berkshire last month.

Henderson, however, insists that while the nine-year-old has his quirks, his behaviour tends to improve as the season progresses.

He said: “Constitution Hill is the A, B, C of training horses and you point him in the right direction. He is very straightforward, as he has got a very good temperament.

“Shishkin is very straightforward, but the early part of the season with him is probably the most difficult. That was a bit to do with what happened at Ascot.

“When he is fresh, he is a bit of a plonker! I sent him to Zara Tindall to go and do some work with her. It was good condition and dressage work to get some manners on him and get the basics done. I think he really enjoyed it.

“He doesn’t enjoy that bit here early on and I don’t know why. He can be stroppy. Once he has had a run, he is completely the opposite. He is putty in our hands.”

As a six-time Grade One and dual Cheltenham Festival winner, Shishkin’s raw ability is not in question, but Henderson feels he faces an almighty task to win the Ladbrokes King George VI Chase on what will ultimately be his first start since impressing at Aintree in the spring.

“I’ve been saying all along I don’t see how you can win a King George without a race and the answer is you can’t. On the other hand, we have got nowhere else to go, as there isn’t another race until the Cotswold Chase,” Henderson went on.

“If I ran him at Sandown in the Fighting Fifth, I would have bottomed him and he wouldn’t go to the King George, so therefore I had to take him home and run him straight in.

“He has been going, for him, really well, and his schooling the other morning was fantastic. I’m not going to sit here and tell you he can win a King George, but I do think he can run very well.

“The trouble with Kempton is that some people think it is an easy three miles because it is flat and fast and there are no hills, but there isn’t a place where they can take a blow or have a breather. You jump, jump, jump, then go flat out around a bend, then go jump, jump, jump. It is all go, go, go.

“We have got to have a go, as we have no other option. We have got to Christmas and he hasn’t had a run, but that is not his fault and I don’t think it is mine either, as we have been trying.”

On his plans to try to avoid a repeat of his Ascot antics, the trainer added: “George (Daly) will go down to the start with him, as he knows him really well.

“We can’t do anything. Charlie Brooks mentioned a hunting horn, but Barney (Clifford, clerk of the course) won’t let me get up a tree and blow it!”

Allaho, Gerri Colombe and last year’s winner Bravemansgame are among eight confirmations for the Ladbrokes King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day.

Willie Mullins sprang a surprise in the race two years ago with Tornado Flyer but that was his first triumph in the race since Florida Pearl in 2001 and in Allaho he has strong claims of a second success in three years.

A dual Ryanair Chase winner, Allaho was being aimed at the three-mile contest last year but picked up an injury which ruled him out of the whole campaign. He returned to action with a win in the Clonmel Oil Chase.

Gerri Colombe has only met with defeat once in his career, at last season’s Cheltenham Festival behind The Real Whacker, and the two are on course to clash again.

Only a short head separated them there but their fortunes have differed wildly since, with Gerri Colombe winning two Grade Ones at Aintree and Down Royal, while The Real Whacker was pulled up in the Paddy Power Gold Cup – having struck into himself.

Paul Nicholls’ Bravemansgame has yet to win a race since his victory 12 months ago. He went out on his shield in the Cheltenham Gold Cup but has been surprisingly beaten in the Charlie Hall and Betfair Chase this season.

He will be joined by stable companion Frodon, winner of the race in 2020.

Shishkin is the unknown quantity in the field after refusing to start at Ascot recently. He proved his stamina for three miles at Aintree in the spring but the lack of a recent run is a concern for his trainer Nicky Henderson.

Shark Hanlon’s Hewick and Venetia Williams’ Royal Pagaille, winner of the Betfair Chase, complete the eight.

Constitution Hill will face a maximum of five rivals in the Ladbrokes Christmas Hurdle.

The best National Hunt horse in training will be making his seasonal bow, with his intended comeback in the Fighting Fifth frozen off before Henderson deemed the ground too soft a week later when it was rearranged at Sandown.

His stablemate First Street, Black Poppy and Nemean Lion, both trained by Kerry Lee, Nicholls’ Rubaud and the veteran Sceau Royal are his only possible rivals.

The Ladbrokes Kauto Star Novices’ Chase is due to feature the UK debut of Il Est Francais, trained by Noel George and Amanda Zetterholm in France.

However, he faces far from an easy task, with Nicholls’ Hermes Allen, Gordon Elliott’s Imagine, the Mullins pair of Grangeclare West and Klassical Dream and Lucinda Russell’s Giovinco all potential rivals among nine entries.

Warren Greatrex views this weekend’s Betfred Tommy Whittle Chase at Haydock as an ideal opportunity to get Bill Baxter up the weights ahead of his ultimate aim back on Merseyside.

The Lambourn handler sees the grey as the perfect type for the Grand National, perhaps not surprisingly given how well he took to the fences when winning the Topham back in April.

However, with the field for the National reduced to 34 this season, competition for places will be hotter than ever and Greatrex feels his current handicap mark of 140 needs to be higher to guarantee a spot.

“The plan has always been the Grand National and he probably needs to go up at least 7lb between now and when the weights are released, so the Tommy Whittle looks a good opportunity to try to get him up the weights,” the trainer said.

“The ground is soft, heavy in places, with more rain to come this week, so it will be tough conditions. I think the track will suit him, as he has run well around Haydock Park before over hurdles and he seems in good form.

“He will be put in the Rowland Meyrick at Wetherby on Boxing Day, but I’m favouring the Tommy Whittle.

“It looks the place to go with the ground set to be in his favour – and with everything happening a bit slower in soft ground around Haydock, I would like to think he will be thereabouts at the end.”

Another reason Greatrex is favouring Haydock is the availability of jockey James Bowen.

“James has ridden him a fair amount and has won twice on him. He knows him and knows what he can do. James is a big part of the team now and is riding everything when he is available,” said Greatrex.

“It works well him being second jockey to Nicky (Henderson) and first jockey to us. He is a huge asset and to have him on board on Saturday would be huge.

“If I go to Wetherby, there are a lot more meetings on Boxing Day and the chances of James being able to ride are much less than he would be able to on Saturday, and that is a big factor.”

Frankie Dettori finished outside of the top three in the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year but said he still felt like a winner as he reflected on the “mistake” he made in declaring 2023 would be his last year in the saddle.

Dettori was one of six who made the shortlist for the coveted award, although as soon as it was announced England goalkeeper Mary Earps was made a long odds-on favourite.

Dettori recently took part in I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! in Australia but was the first to leave the show. Nevertheless, his year proved a real triumph and he was often seen at his majestic best.

The Italian – who turned 53 last week – enjoyed so much success in fact that he revealed he would postpone retirement and continue his career in America, where he will ride in California.

His domestic campaign got off to the perfect start when he won the 2000 Guineas on Chaldean and ensured he won two of the five Classics on offer by taking the Oaks on Soul Sister.

Further big-race glory followed at Royal Ascot in the Gold Cup on Courage Mon Ami and the winners continued to flow. He later admitted that by August he was having second thoughts about his retirement decision.

On Champions Day at Ascot, his scheduled last meeting in Britain, he produced a stellar ride on Trawlerman in the Long Distance Cup and signed off in customary fairytale fashion by winning the Champion Stakes on King Of Steel.

Speaking by video link from France, where he is on holiday with his family, Dettori told Clare Balding: “I’ve been in Australia for a month, and I’ve only got four days off before I start riding in the US on Boxing Day.

“I couldn’t jeopardise these four days to be with you guys, otherwise my family would have killed me! I apologise to everyone, I know how important this is to me and to everyone, I’m very sorry (not to be in the studio).

“To get to the last six, to me I’m already a winner. Racing is very important to me, but other sports appeal to a wider audience in England. I already feel like a winner to be a nominee.

“And you know what, apart from Stuart Broad the other contestants weren’t even born when I started riding! I’m the old man of the group.

“As you get older you have to train more to compete with people half of my age. I would say 70 per cent of the jockeys riding weren’t even born when I started, so fitness is very important. Nowadays we’ve got nutritionists and the most important thing is the mental state – the anger you’ve got to have to keep on winning, and that’s what’s kept me going all these years.”

On his decision to call off his retirement, he said: “At the beginning of the season, I thought, ‘well, I’m 52 and I want to stop at the top’. I watched (Cristiano) Ronaldo two years ago playing for Portugal in the World Cup and he was on the bench. I didn’t want to stop my career being on the bench.

“I thought when I called it a day things would ease off and I’d walk away into the sunset and say my last farewell to everyone. But the opposite happened, wherever I went I kept on winning, I did my farewells everywhere in Europe and I kept on winning and winning. I got to August thinking, ‘Oh my God, am I doing the right thing here?’.

“But unfortunately I’d told everyone I was quitting, so I’d kind of got myself snookered in the corner. I thought, ‘well, I can’t really carry on in England, because they organised so many farewell tours for me and a statue at Ascot’. But I’ve still got to get it out of my system, so my only option was emigrating to the USA, because it’s my last chance to perhaps continue what I love until one day I wake up and say, ‘enough is enough’.

“At the moment, because I’m still winning and the adrenaline is still there, the public still follow me – I’m sorry everyone, I made a mistake, I shouldn’t have said I was going to retire.”

Sir Anthony McCoy in 2010 remains the only jockey to have won the BBC prize. Dettori himself finished third in 1996, the year of his ‘Magnificent Seven’, when he went through the card with all seven winners at Ascot. Hollie Doyle was third in 2020.

Patrick Neville reports The Real Whacker to be firmly on course for next week’s Ladbrokes King George VI Chase after coming through a Tuesday morning workout with flying colours.

The seven-year-old won each of his three starts over fences last term, completing his hat-trick with a narrow defeat of Gerri Colombe in the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase at the Cheltenham Festival.

He disappointed under a big weight on his reappearance in last month’s Paddy Power Gold Cup, but Neville had a viable excuse after his stable star returned with an overreach and he is confident he is back on-song ahead of his bid for glory in Kempton’s Boxing Day showpiece.

“He’s in great shape and we’re looking forward to running him. He’s come on a lot since his last run and we’re delighted with him at the moment,” he said.

“He went away for a piece of work this morning – he’s been to the High Moor in Middleham for a gallop and we were very happy, so it’s just a case of keeping him fresh and well for the next week now.

“I think he maybe only missed two days after the Paddy Power, although he didn’t really miss anything as we had him on the water treadmill, which is a great facility for us here.”

The Real Whacker is a best-priced 10-1 for the King George, with the Willie Mullins-trained Allaho and Paul Nicholls’ defending champion Bravemansgame among his likely rivals.

Dual Ryanair Chase hero Allaho was sidelined for 19 months prior to a workmanlike comeback win in last month’s Clonmel Oil Chase, while Bravemansgame has been beaten in his two starts so far this season.

With Gerri Colombe’s participation uncertain and Nicky Henderson’s Shishkin set to line up having refused to start on his intended return at Ascot, the race does have an open look to it and Neville is excited to be in with a shout.

He added: “There will be some very good horses in the race, as you’d expect, but we’re very happy with our horse and that’s all we can ask.

“I think they’re due a good week’s weather, so the ground shouldn’t be as bad as it was in Cheltenham, when it was very heavy.

“Sam (Twiston-Davies) is looking forward to riding him. He was very happy with how he jumped for most of the race the last day and he looked after him once it wasn’t happening.

“We’re looking forward to taking our chance.”

Paddy Brennan reached another major milestone in his hugely successful riding career as a Tuesday double at Catterick saw him pass the 1,500-winner mark.

It is fast approaching 20 years since the County Galway native was crowned Britain’s champion conditional and he has since gone on to establish himself as one of the sport’s leading jockeys.

Winning an epic Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2010 aboard Imperial Commander is the obvious highlight on a long list of big-race triumphs which also includes the 2007 World Hurdle on the hugely popular Inglis Drever and the 2015 King George VI Chase on Cue Card.

By his own admission success on the biggest stage has proved harder to come by in the latter part of his career, but he has not given up hope of again showcasing his talents at the highest level before hanging up his saddle.

He said: “It’s something I’m really proud of and I do understand the magnitude of it. It’s been hard, it’s still hard, every day is hard, but I’m so proud of my family and the people that have supported me along the way. It’s been an incredible journey.

“I used to live near here when I worked for Mr (Graham) Wylie and I love coming up here. It’s a great track with lovely ground and the motivation is definitely still there.

“It’s been a dream – it’s been like a holiday destination that’s lasted for so long. Hopefully I haven’t booked a flight home yet, but maybe it’s not too far away.”

It was only right that Brennan reached the landmark figure aboard a horse trained by his current boss Fergal O’Brien, with Teorie winner number 1,500 in the Hillcrest Who Cares Wins Juvenile Hurdle.

The veteran rider subsequently admitted that without O’Brien’s support in recent years, he may have already called it a day.

He added: “I’ve no doubt that without Fergal’s yard I would not be here today having ridden 1,500 winners. He extended my career and we work well together.

“It’s not easy, but I’m so driven to get the good days back – Gold Cups, Champion Hurdles, Stayers’ Hurdles. I’m running out of time, but that’s what gets me up every day – I love good horses.

“You really learn to limit expectation in this game as you know the opposition and know what can come forward. I just think you get up out of bed every day and if your horse is sound you’ve got a chance.

“There’s been so many good horses. I’m not Ruby Walsh, but I’ve been very lucky.”

Having won on the Flat in Ireland for Jim Bolger, Teorie was the 4-6 favourite for his hurdling debut – and while Brennan had to chivvy his mount along at various stages, he ultimately drew 15 lengths clear to win comfortably.

O’Brien, claiming his second of three winners on the card after Blue Bikini (8-1) had earlier landed the opening amateur jockeys’ race under his daughter Fern, said of Teorie’s performance: “That’s what we were hoping for, he’s been working well at home and from day one his jumping has been very good.

“He’s a lovely horse who loves training and jumping, which is half the battle.

“Paddy said a lot went wrong today, but he did it well in the end.”

The Gloucestershire-based trainer was also keen to pay tribute to his stable jockey, adding: “We wouldn’t be doing as well as we are without Paddy. He’s been huge for my career and I’ve probably prolonged his career a little bit as well.

“We’ve got a great team of jockeys, he’s the top of them and he’s the bar they have to reach.”

O’Brien and Brennan combined to round off an excellent afternoon’s work in the mares’ handicap hurdle, with 11-2 shot Mistral Nell getting the better of a nip-and-tuck tussle with Crimson Ruby by a head.

An all-star team led by Ryan Moore, who was last week crowned Longines World’s Best Jockey for the fourth year in a row, won the Markel Jockeys Jumping in aid of the Injured Jockeys Fund on Monday evening.

The event is held at the London International Horse Show, formerly known as Olympia, and sees two teams of jockeys take on a course of show jumps against the clock with the fastest collective time winning.

Moore’s team, consisting of Tom Scudamore, Joanna Mason, Sam Twiston-Davies and Harry Skelton – son of Olympic gold medallist, Nick – completed the course in a cumulative time of 124.28 seconds.

Moore’s rivals were led by 20-time champion National Hunt jockey Sir Anthony McCoy and also featured former champion Flat jockey Jim Crowley, Harry Cobden, Lilly Pinchin and Kielan Woods.

Two equestrian champions provided their invaluable expertise as team coaches in Pippa Funnell and Nick Skelton – both Olympians – and it was a tightly-contested battle with just eight seconds between the two teams.

The contest benefits the IJF, which has been established for 60 years and provides much needed help to injured jockeys and their families.

While his team mates and rivals were aboard experienced showjumpers, Scudamore partnered a horse more familiar to him in the former steeplechaser Kingswell Theatre.

Trained by the rider’s brother, Michael, Kingswell Theatre won seven races and enjoyed the finest moments of his career around the cross-country course at Cheltenham.

In 2017 he won the Glenfarclas Cross Country Handicap Chase at the track’s November meeting and in 2020 he returned to the same contest to score by five lengths.

Now 14, the gelding has been retired from racing since 2021 and turned his hoof successfully to a new discipline when jumping a clear round under the lights at the ExCeL arena – a challenging atmosphere for any horse.

“He was absolutely fantastic, it was a privilege to be asked and it’s an event everyone very much enjoys,” said Scudamore.

“It was great to do it on Kingswell Theatre, he’s been such a legend in our family and he certainly didn’t let anyone down.

“It was a big ask of him because though he’s done lots of different things, he hasn’t done much showjumping. He wouldn’t have done nearly as much as the other horses because they were all proper showjumpers.

“To go and do what he did just shows you what a wonderful individual he is, he is pretty unique.

“The atmosphere was the one thing I was worried about but he loved it, whenever there’s people clapping he thinks it’s for him and he loves the attention.”

The work of the IJF has been in the spotlight in recent weeks since the serious spinal injury suffered by Grand National and Group One-winning jockey Graham Lee at Newcastle in November.

Scudamore added: “It is a special event every year, but this time it really resonated as we’re all thinking of Graham Lee and his family. It’s been a sobering few weeks for everyone involved in the sport, so it feels more important than ever to support the IJF.”

Bryony Frost will be on the sidelines for a couple of days following a fall while schooling on Monday.

Frost, who has been in a rich vein of form in recent weeks, hopes to be back in action at Ascot on Friday and then again on Saturday when she is due to ride the Paul Nicholls-trained Red Risk in the Howden Long Walk Hurdle.

She had been due to ride at Fakenham on Tuesday and Newbury on Wednesday, but has sat those out in an attempt to ensure she is fit for the weekend and, further ahead, the ride on Frodon in the King George on Boxing Day.

Her agent Iain Turner said: “She’s had a spill while schooling and we’re planning on her being back at the weekend.

“It’s one of those – with Boxing Day coming up it’s just a case of not taking any risks, which is frustrating as she had some nice chances at Fakenham.

“She’s been on a good run since her injury, and of course she was just touched off in the December Gold Cup on Il Ridoto on Saturday so this has just halted everything.

“As far as I know everything is set for her being back at Ascot on Friday, then she’s got Red Risk in the Long Walk and Frodon on Boxing Day to look forward to.”