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Nicky Henderson reported his hurdling star Constitution Hill to be in 'good shape' ahead of his rematch with State Man in next month's Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham.

All eyes will be on Constitution Hill as he bids to retain his unbeaten record under Rules in next month's Champion Hurdle. A perfect eight from eight since being beaten in his sole point-to-point, the Michael Buckley-owned superstar has undergone something of a sparse campaign having only been sighted once on the racecourse since winning last year's Aintree Hurdle. The sole outing of the season thus far resulted in a routine success in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton on Boxing Day and with a dirty scope forcing Constitution Hill to bypass his intended target on Trials Day, the seven-year-old will now head to next month's Champion on the back of just one run.

"We had a couple of weeks off in the middle where he wasn't quite clean, but everything is in order and he's in good form," explained Henderson speaking at his Seven Barrows yard on a media morning organised by the Jockey Club.

"I'd like to go and have an away day with him but as we know it's very very wet out there."

Whilst a lack of a recent run may look like a potential chink in the armour for some, it is seemingly of no concern for Henderson, who suggested his star was on the right path to defend his Champion Hurdle crown: "We're in good shape and I'm pretty happy we are exactly where we were at this stage last year.

"He was ready at Christmas because he should have gone to Newcastle (Fighting Fifth), so he was very well-prepped for the Christmas Hurdle. He went straight back into work after that because we were trying to get to Cheltenham (Trials Day) so he didn't miss anything there, but one good away day will do it. Where that will be I don't know yet.

"I thought he was exceptional in a piece of work last Saturday. Admittedly it was very very foggy, but he moved absolutely beautifully. He's so professional, that's the secret to him, his mindset is just so good and when you want him to come alive for you, he just does."

Nicky Henderson's Constitution Hill had nine lengths to spare over the Willie Mullins-trained State Man when the pair met on the opening day twelve months ago and whilst Mullins, who is expecting "one hell of a Champion Hurdle", suggests his horse is a "stronger" model this time around, Henderson remained unphased about the task in hand.

"State Man? Who's State Man? You saw him for a minute at the start last year didn't you!" Henderson joked whilst admiring his stable star in front of the cameras.

In comparison to Constitution Hill's one start this campaign, his Irish challenger has already added three more Grade 1's to his CV, including when strutting his way to a second Irish Champion Hurdle success in front of the Lambourn handler, who was in attendance to see his stable star's main opponent at Leopardstown earlier in the month.

"He looked like the same horse to me," said Henderson "Listen, he's a good horse, he's a very good horse, there's no doubt about that. He gets his job done every time, but we've beaten him once and let's hope we can go do it again.

"I don't know what they'll do. We know what we're going to do, and we need to concentrate on what we're going to do. They've got their plans to make, and we'll concentrate on ours.

"He only beat First Street a length in the County Hurdle, and we gave him weight! We know where he is," teased the Seven Barrows handler once more.

A second successive success in the Champion Hurdle for Constitution Hill would see his trainer extend his record to ten in the winning most trainer category, whilst it would also see the seven-year-old join the likes of Henderson's See You Then and Buveur D'Air on the honour list of multiple Champion Hurdle winners.

When asked whether this year's contender pulled top rank of those before him, Henderson said: "I think we'll get to find out in a few weeks one way or another. He might well be."

He added: "There's one thing they all have in common and that'd their ability to jump a hurdle as fast as you've ever seen a horse jump one. See You Then was exactly the same, Binocular the same, Buveur D'Air, My Tent Or Yours although he didn't actually win one and Epatante. They were all electric hurdlers, and this lad is just so fast and low."

Henderson also suggested he'd be losing little sleep over the prospect of a small or large field in three weeks' time as he labelled his tactically versatile son of Blue Bresil 'the ultimate professional'.

"You can do anything with him, it doesn't matter if they go slow or fast. If they want to go very slow then fine, we might go on. You don't need pacemakers or anything for him, you can even gallop him on his own at home."

With Constitution Hill a general 1/3 shot to defend his title at Prestbury Park next month, much like an elite-level football manager formulating his side for a Champions League final, Henderson admitted to feeling a sense of responsibility regarding the preparation of 'the special one'.

"There's an element of responsibility that comes into it as he's sort of the special one at the moment. It won't last forever, it can't all good things come to an end but it's a privilege and a pleasure to have him."