Honey’s hitting top form in time for her big tests
JUMP racing’s heroine Honeysuckle is in tip-top form as she bids to join Hurricane Fly and Istabraq as four-ina-row winners of the Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown on Sunday week.
Trainer Henry de Bromhead is upbeat that the nine-year-old mare can bounce back from her shock defeat at Fairyhouse last month when she defends her Irish crown against State Man and co.
‘She seems great,’ said De Bromhead yesterday. ‘I thought she ran well at Fairyhouse, probably not up to her highest level but for her first run back she ran really well.
‘Two and a half (miles) on ground that got very soft in the end might have just been a stretch. She was beaten by a real soft-ground specialist in Teahupoo, and Klassical Dream is a high-class horse as well.
‘Every trainer dreams of having a horse like her. We’ve had some roll.’
Depending on how Honeysuckle fares in the Irish Champion Hurdle, connections will make a call on her Cheltenham Festival target – either the Champion Hurdle – which she has won for the past two years – or the Mares’ Hurdle.
‘I suppose my job is to find the race I’ve the best chance of winning,’ said De Bromhead.
‘At the moment, looking at
Constitution Hill and he’s whatever he is, 1/3.
‘I’m not saying the Mares’ race would be an easy race but you might have a better chance of winning that than you would a Champion (Hurdle), if all the players turn up.’
‘We have to get through the Chanelle Pharma Irish Champion Hurdle first and that’s a big test for us also. We’ve got plenty to do in between,’ he added.
De Bromhead is a big fan of the Dublin Racing Festival, which embraces eight grade one races over two days and offers prize money in excess of €2million.
‘It’s a brilliant concept and it’s got established very quickly.
‘It’s really good timing with five weeks to Cheltenham, and plenty of horses have stepped forward from it to win over there.’