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Constitution Hill among 101 entries for the Melbourne Cup, with Joseph O'Brien fielding 11 runners

Constitution Hill was entered for the 2025 Melbourne Cup, requiring a top-three finish in Saturday's September Stakes to secure a run. Trainer Nicky Henderson confirmed Billy Loughnane as jockey for that race, while Joseph O'Brien has up to 11 potential runners in the Flemington feature.

By Tertius News AI Desk 2 distinct · 2 mastheads · 2 articles Version 1 Coverage Sep 1, 2026 Published 1h ago

Constitution Hill enters Melbourne Cup picture

Constitution Hill was among 101 horses entered for the 2025 Melbourne Cup at Flemington on November 3, as reported by both Racing Post and The Sun. The 2023 Champion Hurdle winner, who has won both of his starts on the Flat, needs to finish in the first three in Saturday's September Stakes at Kempton to pass the ballot clause and secure a run.

Nicky Henderson, who trains Constitution Hill, had previously said the horse would not go to Melbourne 'in a million years', but the entry confirms a shift in plans. Henderson told The Sun that after Saturday he and owner Michael Buckley would 'have a chat about what we do going forward'.

The September Stakes, a Group 3 contest over a mile and a half, will see Constitution Hill face Group 1 winners Bay City Roller and Tornado Alert. The race is part of Henderson's plan to get a third run into the nine-year-old, who is one of the lowest-rated horses in the race.

Loughnane booked for Kempton return

Billy Loughnane has been confirmed as Constitution Hill's jockey for Saturday's race, with Henderson explaining that Ryan Moore and Oisin Murphy were already committed elsewhere. 'Ryan Moore is in America and Oisin rides another one in the race,' Henderson said. 'There are lots of people that could have ridden him as the shortlist was a longlist, but it was about who was available, and Billy was.'

Loughnane, 20, has won the 2,000 Guineas, St James's Palace Stakes and Sussex Stakes this season on the now-retired Bow Echo. Henderson praised his form, saying 'I've watched Billy all summer and he seems to ride pretty well!' and expressed confidence in the booking.

O'Brien's strong challenge

Joseph O'Brien could have up to 11 horses in the Melbourne Cup, a stable that has won the race twice before with Rekindling (2017) and Twilight Payment (2020). Among his potential runners are Defiantly, who secured a place by winning the Prix Kergorlay last month, and Goodie Two Shoes, runner-up in last year's Cup. Other possible O'Brien entries include Highwayman, James J Braddock, Kizylar, Omni Man, Small Fry, Sons And Lovers, Starford and Trustyourinstinct.

Joseph's father, Aidan O'Brien, has five potential candidates, headed by Derby winner Christmas Day, alongside Amelia Earhart, Causeway, Pierre Bonnard and Piazza San Marco. Aidan O'Brien has yet to win the Melbourne Cup.

Home team and other international contenders

Last year's winner Half Yours could head the home team, while leading trainer Ciaron Maher has 14 entries and Chris Waller is responsible for 12. George Boughey has entered Ebor second Hopewell Rock, and Harry Varian has entered Roger Varian's Bay City Roller.

Constitution Hill is quoted as big as 40-1 for the Melbourne Cup. Weights will be released on September 17, with first declarations due on September 29.

How each outlet told it

A framing line is our reading of that outlet's own text — an interpretation, not a quotation and not a fact we assert. Check it against what the outlet published.

Racing Post

Framing: Emphasizes Constitution Hill's entry among 101 and Joseph O'Brien's 11 runners

as of Sep 1, 2026, 9:46 AM UTC

Facts Included:

Constitution Hill was among 101 horses entered for the Melbourne Cup on November 3
Constitution Hill needs to finish in the first three on his return in the September Stakes on Saturday to pass the ballot clause
He faces Group 1 winners Bay City Roller and Tornado Alert in the Group 3 event at Kempton
Joseph O'Brien could have up to 11 horses in the Melbourne Cup
Joseph O'Brien won the race with Rekindling in 2017 and Twilight Payment in 2020
Defiantly secured a run by winning the Prix Kergorlay last month
Goodie Two Shoes was last year's runner-up
Aidan O'Brien has five potential candidates, including Derby winner Christmas Day
Last year's winner Half Yours could head the home team
Ciaron Maher has 14 entries and Chris Waller is responsible for 12
Weights released September 17 and first declarations September 29

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The Sun

Framing: Emphasizes the Melbourne Cup entry for Constitution Hill and the confirmation of a new jockey for his comeback run. — informative and promotional

as of Sep 1, 2026, 9:47 AM UTC

Facts Included:

Constitution Hill has been entered in the Melbourne Cup.
The Melbourne Cup will be held on Tuesday, November 3.
Constitution Hill is as big as 40-1 for the Melbourne Cup.
Nick Brady Henderson's horse Constitution Hill was entered in the first official entry stage.
Joseph O'Brien entered 11 horses for the Melbourne Cup.
Aidan O'Brien entered Derby winner Christmas Day.
Billy Loughnane was confirmed as the jockey for Constitution Hill's Group 3 return at Kempton on Saturday.
Loughnane won the 2,000 Guineas, St James's Palace Stakes, and Sussex Stakes on the now-retired Bow Echo.
Oisin Murphy and Ryan Moore are already jocked up for the race.
Henderson said: 'Ryan Moore is in America and Oisin rides another one in the race.'
Henderson said: 'I've watched Billy all summer and he seems to ride pretty well!'
Henderson said: 'There are lots of people that could have ridden him as the shortlist was a longlist, but it was about who was available, and Billy was.'
Henderson said: 'He has shown plenty of times how talented he is.'
Henderson said: 'It is over a mile and a half and we know he likes the track.'
Henderson said: 'He's one of the lowest-rated horses, so it is technically impossible, but we've got to get that third run into him.'
Henderson said: 'After Saturday, me and the owner can have a chat about what we do going forward.'
Henderson said: 'Everybody has been tremendous in supporting him.'
Henderson said: 'I just hope he can do himself justice on Saturday.'
Constitution Hill was 12-1 for the William Hill September Stakes, now best-priced 8-1.
Constitution Hill is nine years old.
Constitution Hill has won two from two on the Flat.
Gethin is the favourite for the William Hill September Stakes at 3-1.
George Boughey has entered Ebor second Hopewell Rock for the Melbourne Cup.
Harry Varian has entered Roger Varian's Bay City Roller.
Aidan O'Brien has entered Christmas Day among his squad.
The Sun's article noted that Henderson had previously said 'he won't go there in a million' regarding the Melbourne Cup.

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What was claimed, and who backed it

AI-extracted; can misattribute a claim — see Methodology.

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status is Contested when two claims on this page negate each other; otherwise it counts the distinct outlets we found asserting that specific claim — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimConstitution Hill was entered among 101 horses in the first official entry stage for the 2025 Melbourne Cup, which will be held on Tuesday, November 3.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets · 2 distinct) via Racing Post as of Sep 1, 2026, 9:46 AM UTC, The Sun as of Sep 1, 2026, 9:47 AM UTC
ClaimMelbourne Cup is a multi-million pound contest to be held on Tuesday, November 3.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Sun as of Sep 1, 2026, 9:47 AM UTC
ClaimConstitution Hill was quoted as big as 40-1 for the Melbourne Cup.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Sun as of Sep 1, 2026, 9:47 AM UTC
ClaimNicky Henderson originally ruled out Constitution Hill running in the Melbourne Cup, saying 'he won't go there in a million'.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Sun as of Sep 1, 2026, 9:47 AM UTC
ClaimConstitution Hill was given a Melbourne Cup entry at the first official entry stage, alongside around 100 other horses.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Sun as of Sep 1, 2026, 9:47 AM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

2 distinct · 2 mastheads · 2 articles consulted: Racing Post, The Sun 5 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-09-01