TRAINER Nicky Henderson had some slightly better news on Constitution Hill’s health on Friday afternoon but he still believes the Champion Hurdle winner is ‘unwell’ and says a blood test on Monday - eight days before Cheltenham - will be “the acid test”.

With the media present, Constitution Hill worked badly at Kempton on Tuesday, trailing behind two stable companions. Immediately the horse’s price for the Champion Hurdle went from 1/2 to 5/2.

A post-gallop endoscopic examination (scope) or tracheal wash revealed traces of mucus - but nothing too serious - while a blood test on Thursday confirmed “a significant degree of inflammation”. The trainer reported that his veterinary advice was that the horse could recover within a week, depending on the severity of the issue.

On Friday afternoon, Henderson posted on social media: “Constitution Hill had a light exercise and was rescoped afterwards as planned. This showed the neutrophil percentage, indicative of infection, was back to normal parameters, with no mucus evident.

“This is obviously positive news but we cannot hide behind yesterday’s blood test which basically reveals that, in simple terms, our horse is ‘unwell’.

“He will have a quiet weekend and we propose, as originally planned, to take a further blood test on Monday which, I believe, will be the acid test.”

The betting markets reacted to this news by leaving State Man as favourite for the Champion Hurdle at around 9/10 but Constitution Hill has shortened into 7/4 from 9/4.

Leading equine veterinary surgeon Hugh Dillon said he could not comment on Constitution Hill’s prospects, but said he would be no more than hopeful of the chances of any horse making a full recovery within 10 days of a bad blood test result and dirty scope.

Dillon said: “It’s a very inexact science and horses make liars of us all. There are different markers for inflammation. It could be caused by a high SAA (Serum Amyloid A) which is transitory, or it could be due to a high white cell count, which is unlikely to go down in a few days.

“You’d be pessimistic about a horse making a full recovery within 10 days but it is possible. Friday’s statement did not mention raised white blood cell count, just the neutrophil percentage, which is encouraging, and his latest scope results appear to be improved.”

With doubts lingering over the reigning champion, there is an increased likelihood of supplementary entries at the six-day confirmation stage next Wednesday.

The Gordon Elliott-trained Irish Point had been on course for the Stayers’ Hurdle but also holds an entry in the Champion Hurdle and could be switched to the shorter race.

Robbie Power, spokesperson for owners Robcour, told The Irish Field: “Irish Point will be left in the Champion Hurdle at the confirmation stage but a final decision won’t be made until the end of next week.”

Power confirmed that Robcour’s Teahupoo remains on track for the Stayers’ Hurdle and he ruled out the possibility of Aintree-bound Bob Olinger being supplemented for the Champion Hurdle.

State Man’s rider Paul Townend insists he took no delight in learning of Constitution Hill’s setback this week and instead remains solely focused on hoping his own mount can get to Cheltenham in one piece.

Speaking as part of the Ladbrokes-backed On The Wire Cheltenham preview this week, he indicated that he did not feel the best version of State Man turned up in last year’s Champion Hurdle when beaten nine lengths in second.

Asked how he felt when hearing news of the reigning champion’s disappointing Kempton workout, Townend said: “We just heard the news when riding out in Willie’s during the week. We have to get there as well. You want everything to go well for the horse you have, and you feel for them. We’re not there either [as riders]. It’s nearly Cheltenham time, but it’s the longest time to wait.”

On whether he believes State Man can beat a peak-level Constitution Hill, he added: “We’ll struggle. I’d hope we’ll give him a run for it – I thought we would last year and we didn’t. Am I confident of beating him? No. How would you sell a lie like that, that you could be confident of beating Constitution Hill? I’d hope we can give him a race of it and get closer.

“To be honest, I was struggling throughout the race last year and after two hurdles I felt I was never going to give him a race of it, having gone over there thinking I would. I was trying to get second and had a flicker of hope when I saw him coming out of Nico de Boinville’s hands at the last, but we were all-in at that stage.

“The feeling I got from him after Cheltenham felt better [than on the day]. Maybe he just wasn’t good enough and wasn’t able to go the pace in the race last year. We won’t know until we’ll try again. I feel he’s really good this year and feels really well in himself. It wasn’t an easy decision to leave Impaire Et Passe behind for him at Christmas and I was delighted with his performance then, and he backed that up at the Dublin Racing Festival.”