Constitution Hill’s win in the Christmas Hurdle came 12 months after his last run – when he ran out an impressive winner of the same race.
He missed the remainder of the season through issues including ground concerns, a respiratory issue and suspected colic, and had not run this season because he was lame and had a disappointing workout at Newbury.
But his big rival at Kempton, talented Irish mare Lossiemouth, seemed to struggle with the early pace set by Burdett Road, with De Boinville remaining motionless on Constitution Hill until they turned for home.
The pair made their move with two hurdles to go and pulled clear approaching the last, going on to win by two-and-a-half lengths to make it nine wins out of nine over hurdles.
“He felt fantastic and will improve for that,” De Boinville told ITV Racing. “It has been a long time coming but it has been worth the wait. That is some training performance.
“I was confident after a couple of pieces of work I did on him two weeks ago and since then he has been pleasing us. Fitness-wise, that will bring him on no end.”