Grand National 2025 – Lossiemouth wins Aintree Hurdle as Constitution Hill falls again

Constitution Hill (evens favourite) fell for a second successive race as Lossiemouth (5-4) brought up an Opening Day four-timer for trainer Willie Mullins in the William Hill Aintree Hurdle on day one of the 2025 Randox Grand National Festival at Aintree Racecourse.

Nicky Henderson's stable star, who won the Grade One feature on the opening day of the Grand National meeting two years ago, had fallen in his bid to regain his Unibet Champion Hurdle crown he also won in 2023 at last month’s Cheltenham Festival. And having been seemingly travelling supremely well for Nico de Boinville turning for home he got stuck behind a wall of horses as Paul Townend switched Lossiemouth away from trouble around the outside. As De Boinville tried to do likewise and launch his challenge alongside his main market rival, he took a crashing fall at the second flight from home. It left Lossiemouth, who has won the Mares' Hurdle for a second successive year at Prestbury Park last month, to power on and she held off the fellow Cheltenham Festival winner, the Gordon Elliott-trained Woodhoh (17-2), by two-and-three-quarters-of-a-length.

Mullins had sympathy with connections of Constitution Hill and the County Carlow handler said: "I was disappointed for Michael (Buckley, owner), Nicky and Nico and the connections of Constitution Hill – and for racing. We came here knowing our mare was in good shape and we thought the (two-and-a-half-mile) trip would suit us this time (rather than two miles at Kempton), but we never got to find out. When Paul made his move it has eventually paid off, but I was wondering had he done it too soon.

"Nico has a great habit of looking like he is under pressure and then finding another bit in the last furlong. A couple of times we've thought we had Nico beat and he's actually got a little bit up his sleeve, so I did wonder if Paul had played his cards too early, but it was gifted to him so what could he do."

He added: "I'd imagine we'll go to Punchestown now as long as she comes out of this all right, that's our normal plan. I'm not getting into if she runs in the Champion or Mares' though! State Man will be going for the Champion so we'll probably keep them apart."

Henderson was naturally hugely disappointed and the Seven Barrows handler said: "It is heartbreaking and to do it twice, you couldn't believe it really. He is genuinely the best jumper you'll ever see. But in that vocabulary there is just what you would have called a one per cent chance of doing what he's done, but he's done it twice, which does worry you, of course it does. But how can you iron it out?

"As Nico said, he'd been fantastic the whole way. At a couple of hurdles he went in short and that's what we've been trying to get him to do, but when you're going to three out and racing like that you can't afford to do that, you've got to go, and Nico said he just came up too soon. Nico said he was full of running and his words to me were that he actually had Lossiemouth where he wanted her. He was happy with her in front rather than behind."

On whether Constitution Hill might run again this season at the Punchestown Festival, Henderson added: "We started to discuss it (Punchestown) just then. Funnily enough after Cheltenham I said to Nico we'd go to Punchestown and not here and he said 'good, those hurdles will suit him better'."

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