Honey is unrivalled in quest to make it a sweet 16
SWEET 16 is on the cards for Honeysuckle at Punchestown today as Ireland’s equine treasure is in a class of her own in the Paddy Power Irish Champion Hurdle (5.25).
How good? For me, she’s the Istabraq of our time — there is no higher accolade.
She beat Frankel’s record with her 14th win, then beat Bula’s record with her 15th in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham.
A 16th win in 16 races is oddson, almost eight years to the day since she was foaled — April 28, 2014.
If anyone deserves a tiered cake and three hip-hip-hoorays today, it’s Honeysuckle.
She’s in her own territory now, completely dominant and we should appreciate her — and her outstanding jockey too, Rachael Blackmore.
It kind of annoyed me that there was more talk before Cheltenham this year about Constitution Hill than there was about Honeysuckle.
We often do this, build up the novices. We did it with Samcro and we did it with Envoi Allen.
The ones that are delivering in open company are often undervalued for their excellence. They’re in with the best and there is no hiding place.
Honeysuckle’s last ten races have been at Grade One level, and she won them all.
I have no doubt Honeysuckle will get a great reception today, one to dwarf that of Fairyhouse and Leopardstown earlier this season — it could even match the roar on her return to the winner’s enclosure at Cheltenham last month.
Connections have indicated next year is her last season which means there’s only a handful of racecourse appearances left in her.
Today is one of them and her presence is worth the Punchestown admission alone.
She’s so far ahead of her rivals that she’d have to be 25 pounds less than her best and she’d probably still win. She’s beaten all these horses before and I don’t see any reason to suggest she’d be getting a fright from any of them.
For those who like to bet without the favourite, I don’t know what Darasso has done to be the outsider of the pack. He could follow Honeysuckle home as he’s the most consistent of the opposition.
The Alanna Homes Champion Novice Hurdle (6.0) over two miles and four furlongs has also drawn a small field, with no eachway betting. State Man is the horse to be on here. We thought he was well handicaped when he won the County Hurdle, we know for sure now he was.
Gaillard Du Mesnil won in these colours last year and I hope State Man is better than that and we don’t see him contesting the Irish Grand National next year!
The likes of Vautour, Nichols Canyon and Mikael D’Haguenet have won this race for Willie Mullins before and it’s possible State Man could go on to great things too.
He took a nasty fall in a maiden hurdle at Leopardstown at Christmas when no one knew how good he was at that stage, or even when he went to Cheltenham and sluiced up.
Only five years old, he has buckets of scope to improve and I’m siding with him over the Gorodn Elliott-Davy Russell combination, Three Stripe Life, who was second to Sir Gerhard at Cheltenham and a subsequent Grade One winner at Aintree.
Of the others, Kilcruit didn’t turn up in the ‘Supreme’, while Flame Bearer has been winning, if not at this level.
It’s Ladies Day at Punchestown today and just as Honeysuckle will turn heads, we’ve an allfemale cast in the Grade Two chase named in honour of Glencarraig Lady, the Gold Cup winner of 50 years ago.
It appears a match, and a rematch too, between Elimay and Scarlet And Dove who duelled at Cheltenham in a similar contest last month.
On reflection, Scarlet And Dove might have won but for getting there a fraction too soon, and eventually losing second place on the line.
Elimay will be the favourite but off level weights I think Scarlet And Dove will give her a fright.
In the two-mile Novice Hurdle (7.10), El Fabiolo holds all the aces based on his run at Aintree where he diced with Jonbon and only went down by a neck. The pair were 20 lengths clear of third place.
In the closing Bumper, my eye has been drawn to a British runner, Great Name That, trained by Harry Fry. We don’t see too many visitors making their racecourse debut here.
Fry has a decent record at Punchestown Festival and any market moves should be noted.