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Constitution Hill Among Ten Entries For The Dubai Duty Free John Porter Stakes
Nicky Henderson shares an update on his Grade 1-winning hurdler turned exciting Flat prospect ahead of debut at Newbury this Saturday
A field of ten has been entered for the Group 3 Dubai Duty Free Finest Surprise Stakes, registered as the John Porter Stakes, which takes place on Saturday 18 April. Constitution Hill features among the competitive line-up, which includes several Group winners, for the £95,000 contest over 1m4f.
Having established himself as a top-class hurdler, Constitution Hill made a striking transition to the Flat earlier this year following his third fall over hurdles in the Grade 1 Fighting Fifth Hurdle in November 2025.
A two-time Cheltenham Festival winner, he is now unbeaten in two starts on the All Weather after recording a dominant success at Southwell in February and following up with another convincing win at Kempton last month.
On whether his performances on the Flat have come as a surprise, Henderson commented: “We’ve always known he’s got tons of talent. When you have jockeys like Oisin (Murphy) and Ryan (Moore), it wasn’t difficult just to say – ‘look, this isn’t a big, heavy, slow, one paced hurdler. This has got gears.’ – and they both got off and said a mile and a half is as far as you need to go. That’s how quick he is. He is a natural.”
The nine-year-old could be set to face his most demanding test on the Flat to date on Saturday. Henderson added: “We’ve got to get somewhere, so I’d just rather go for a nice track and let him enjoy
When asked about the ground conditions, Henderson said: “Well, I do have reservations because it’s been a long dry spell and we’re having a lot of trouble on the Jumps tracks. But let’s hope we can. I spoke to Michael (Buckley) last night and I’ll pop over on Wednesday and have a look to see what it is before declarations on Thursday.”
Among the potential challengers is Convergent, trained by Karl Burke, who brings strong form at Group level. The four-year-old secured a notable Group 2 victory at Longchamp in October, having gone close in the Group 1 German Derby at Hamburg earlier in the summer.
Pride Of Arras, winner of both the Group 2 Great Voltigeur Stakes and the Group 2 Dante Stakes at York last season, is another notable entry. Trained by Ralph Beckett, the four-year-old is expected to make his seasonal reappearance here.
William Haggas has two entered in eight-time Group 3 winner Al Aasy and Tenability, who won four consecutive races last year, while Andrew Balding could be represented by Bellum Justum, last year’s Group 2 Jockey Club Stakes winner.
There is also a familiar rival in the field for Constitution Hill in Burdett Road, trained by James Owen. The pair previously met over hurdles, notably in the 2024 Christmas Hurdle, where Burdett Road finished third, and again in the 2025 Champion Hurdle.
Eydon, Lion’s Pride and Phantom Flight complete the entries.
