Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
IT’S 10 OUT OF 10 FOR HONEY
HONEYSUCKLE stretched her unbeaten record to 10 — and gave the performance of her career so far — with an awesome display in Leopardstown’s Irish Champion Hurdle.
The 10-length demolition job in the Chanelle Pharmasponsored highlight of the Dublin Racing Festival’s opening day saw Rachael Blackmore’s mount slashed to 9-4 favourite with Ladbrokes for the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham on March 16.
Twelve months ago, the Henry de Bromheadtrained mare showed true grit for a half-length margin in the two-mile Grade 1 test.
But this time Blackmore eased the 10-11 favourite into a four-length lead jumping the second-last hurdle and the race was over, with podium finishers Abacadabras and Sharjah left toiling.
“Sometimes you’d like a set of wing mirrors to know how far ahead you are!” laughed the winning rider.
“She was electrifying — just fantastic today.
“I was happy that if she was taking me, I was going to let her — I wasn’t going to bring her back.
“She did that and she really picked up down to the second-last and quickened up the whole way to the line.”
Bookmakers were so taken with the victory that Honeysuckle displaced reigning title-holder Epatante at the head of the Champion Hurdle betting.
Last March, Honeysuckle’s owner Kenny Alexander decided to duck the Champion Hurdle challenge and go for Cheltenham’s Mares’ Hurdle, in which the sevenyear-old beat Benie Des Dieux. But even the evercautious de Bromhead admitted the Tuesday feature is now uppermost in his mind.
“I’ll speak to the owners, but you’d feel we’re leaning towards the Champion now,” said the trainer.
“That was deadly – it has to be up there with her best performances to date.”
While Willie Mullins had to be content with Sharjah’s bronze medal, Ireland’s champion trainer monopolised the remaining Grade 1 events on the card with triumphs for the Paul Townend-partnered Chacun Pour Soi, Energumene and Gaillard Du Mesnil.
Chacun Pour Soi is now 4-6 for Cheltenham’s
Queen Mother Champion Chase after registering back-to-back wins in the Grade 1 Ladbrokes Dublin Chase, and Mullins purred: “He’s an awesome horse to have anything to do with.”
Mullins’ Energumene threw down the gauntlet to Cheltenham rival Shishkin with a 10-length dismissal of his opponents in the Patrick Ward & Company Solicitors Irish Arkle Novice Chase.
Shishkin softened to 10-11 in the market for the National Hunt Festival’s Arkle Trophy, for which Energumene is now as short as 9-4 second choice.
“He’s a hell of a horse, and it’s great that we’ve one from each side of the Irish Sea going there,” said Mullins.
“I’d rather it was without Shishkin, but it does look like it will be a race to look forward to from both sides.”
Gaillard Du Mesnil is the 3-1 favourite for the Ballymore Hurdle at the home of jump racing after a five-length victory in the opening Grade 1 Nathaniel Lacy & Partners Solicitors ‘50k Cheltenham Bonus For Stable Staff’ Novice Hurdle.
You’d like a set of wing mirrors to know how far ahead you are