I was encouraged to hear Nicky Henderson saying things like “we want to run him” after Constitution Hill strolled home in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton, and the Master of Seven Barrows indicated that the best hurdler many racegoers have ever seen would probably return to Cheltenham to contest the International Hurdle on the track’s putative Trials Day later this month.

Hoorah, I thought, Nicky knows how important this horse is to the public and he’s going to campaign him accordingly. How naive I am.