FEATURE JAYDON LEE
21-year-old admits he was taken aback by the level of interest in Constitution Hill from his ever-increasing fan club at the 2023 Festival. He adds: “When we got there to unload him in the morning, there were crowds that had gathered to see him unload. As soon as we got out, there were flashes from cameras everywhere. When you turn that corner to enter the paddock, you then realised all eyes were on him. The atmosphere and the occasion – then it hits you. “Leading a horse around as good as him, you want your job to go well, as although everyone is not watching you, they are watching the horse. Until you let them go, you want it all to go smoothly. It is nervous excitement when you see, in this case, Nico [de Boinville] getting the leg up. When you let them go, your job is done, and in some ways, it is horrible, as it is then out of your control. “Everyone has taken to him, and in some ways, as Michael Buckley [owner] has said, he almost doesn’t own the horse anymore – the racing world does.” For any stable hand watching a race unfold, it brings with it a rollercoaster of emotions. However, for Lee, who hails from Leamington Spa, he insists that while
the nerves intensified close to the finish for much of the race, he was reasonably calm about what was being played out in front of him. He adds: “I was fairly relaxed through the race, as with this horse you can do anything. Nico had him in a nice position early on and he jumped the first two nicely. He looked like he had it under control and he went through the race perfectly and he didn’t miss a hurdle. “As the race went on, you could almost allow yourself to grow in confidence in what you were seeing. We had State Man hanging on our tail, but coming down the hill when Nico started going through the gears, you started to believe. “When I saw him sprint from the bend, I was thinking just get over that last obstacle and with luck you will be fine. As soon as he landed over the other side, it was a relief.” While the immediate aftermath at the track was a moment that Lee will treasure forever, the celebrations went above and beyond those at the track, such is the impact Constitution Hill has had on the sport. Lee says: “I spent most of the time after the race going through the messages. After the race I had
“We had State Man hanging on our tail, but coming down the hill, you started to believe”
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