NO SIGN OF A HONEY TRAP
Mare won’t be lured into a compromising position
HONEYSUCKLE should extend her record-breaking winning sequence by landing a second Paddy Power Champion Hurdle in Punchestown.
The remarkable mare has been a revelation for owner Kenny Alexander, Henry de Bromhead and, of course, Rachael Blackmore (inset), since being bought at the Punchestown Sale four years ago.
Now an eight-year-old, she boasts an untarnished record, 15 from 15, including 11 Grade 1 races.
She boasts a rating of 165, a minimum of 5lb above today’s rivals and has beaten all of her rivals in the past. Also, she, and Echoes Of Rain will receive the 7lb mare’s allowance.
Honeysuckle’s 2021-22 campaign has been mapped out on the same lines as last season – she completed a hat-trick in the Hatton’s Grace at Fairyhouse in November, beating Ronald Pump.
She skipped Christmas action before winning her third Irish Champion Hurdle, at the expense of Zanahiyr, at Leopardstown in February.
Most recently, she retained her Unibet Champion Hurdle crown in Cheltenham, beating Epatante ( favourite for the Grade 1 mares hurdle tomorrow) by three and a half lengths.
Last year, she wasn’t at her best when beating Sharjah by two and a quarter-lengths in this race, having beaten the Willie Mullins-trained gelding by six and a half lengths at Cheltenham. And there must be a slight fear she won’t be at her peak today.
But this mare has it all – innate ability, the will to win and a mixture of speed and stamina which makes her equally at home over the championship distance of two miles and two and a half. And she has a trainer and rider, who are on the same wavelength as her.
Today’s ground conditions should be fine for Honeysuckle. Rachael will ride the race as she finds it. And anything but another win for the queen of Cheltenham and Leopardstown would come as a major shock. She should treat her fans to another powerful performance.
At long odds-on, she’s not a betting proposition today. But she should raise the roof in a week when de Bromhead could do with a big-race win following the disappointing efforts of Bob Olinger and Minella Indo.
Teahupoo is the highest-rated of Honeysuckle’s rivals, a five-time winner since joining Gordon Elliott, whose run in the Champion Hurdle ( finished last of the 10 runners) was too bad to be true.
She prefaced that display with a convincing victory over another of today’s rivals Darasso, a Grade 2 winner at Fairyhouse last time, in the Red Mills in Gowran Park.
Willie Mullins will saddle two, Champion Hurdle fourth Saint Roi and Echoes In Rain, a Grade 1 winner at this meeting last year, but held by Honeysuckle on Irish Champion Hurdle form and only fifth to Maries Rock in the Mares Hurdle at Cheltenham.
The only British challenger is Adagio, representing David Pipe and Tom Scudamore, but beaten almost 15 lengths in eighth spot behind Honeysuckle at Cheltenham.