Honeysuckle will have to be at her best in Cheltenham’s Champion Hurdle to extend proud unbeaten record

honeysuckle will need to produce a career-best performance to successfully defend her Unibet Champion Hurdle crown next week as trainer Henry de Bromhead tries to play down his Cheltenham Festival expectations.
By Tom Richmond
Published 9th Mar 2022, 06:00 BST
Rachael Blackmore became the first female jockey to win the Champion Hurdle when Honeysuckle won at Cheltenham last year for trainer Henry de Bromhead.Rachael Blackmore became the first female jockey to win the Champion Hurdle when Honeysuckle won at Cheltenham last year for trainer Henry de Bromhead.
Rachael Blackmore became the first female jockey to win the Champion Hurdle when Honeysuckle won at Cheltenham last year for trainer Henry de Bromhead.

The wonder mare was one of six winners at Cheltenham last year for de Bromhead who also saddled the Champion Chase and Gold Cup winners in an unprecedented feat. He then won the Randox Grand National with Minella Times.

Unbeaten from 14 starts, Honeysuckle could be the shortest-priced Champion Hurdle favourite in history as she bids to join the dual winners who include legendary Yorkshire trainer Peter Easterby’s Night Nurse and Sea Pigeon.

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She’s one of the most popular horses in training thanks to her association with Rachael Blackmore who also won six races at Cheltenham last year, though the Gold Cup eluded her, before making National history on Minella Times.

Rachael Blackmore became the first female jockey to win the Champion Hurdle when Honeysuckle won at Cheltenham last year for trainer Henry de Bromhead.Rachael Blackmore became the first female jockey to win the Champion Hurdle when Honeysuckle won at Cheltenham last year for trainer Henry de Bromhead.
Rachael Blackmore became the first female jockey to win the Champion Hurdle when Honeysuckle won at Cheltenham last year for trainer Henry de Bromhead.

The Kenneth Alexander-owned Honeysuckle won the Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown last month and de Bromhead, who trains in County Waterford, reports a trouble-free preparation.

“Obviously we had to discuss whether she should go chasing at the beginning of the season but I think Honey made the decision for us and we were all happy to stay over hurdles,” he said.

“Once we’d decided to do that we took the view that ‘if it ain’t broke don’t try to fix it’ and we stuck with the same route as last year. Touch wood, it’s gone well so far.

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“It looks a very good race, as you’d expect with any Champion Hurdle. I thought last year’s looked very good as well. I suppose on ratings it possibly is her biggest test so far, but it’s as you’d expect this race to be. It’s really competitive and there’s some great horses in there – much like last year.”

Rachael Blackmore became the first female jockey to win the Champion Hurdle when Honeysuckle won at Cheltenham last year for trainer Henry de Bromhead.Rachael Blackmore became the first female jockey to win the Champion Hurdle when Honeysuckle won at Cheltenham last year for trainer Henry de Bromhead.
Rachael Blackmore became the first female jockey to win the Champion Hurdle when Honeysuckle won at Cheltenham last year for trainer Henry de Bromhead.

He continued: “I’ve been told that Honeysuckle could go off as the shortest-priced Champion Hurdle favourite this century (Istabraq was 8-15 in 2000) but I had no idea. It’s probably more pressure in that of course you want her to win, but it’s like with any of them, you want them to run their best race.

“It would be unbelievable stuff if she could win again – there’s not many that can win two Champion Hurdles so it would be incredible. Her unbeaten run is amazing but all we can do is get her there as well as we possibly can and then hope we have a bit of luck and that it all goes well.”

De Bromhead will be pleasantly surprised if Put The Kettle On can defend her Champion Chase title – this year’s clash appears to be a rematch between Nicky Henderson’s Shishkin and the Willie Mullins-trained Energumene following their epic clash at Ascot in January that went to the British horse.

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But he was responsible for the one-two in last year’s Gold Cup when the Jack Kennedy-ridden Minella Indo prevailed from A Plus Tard in a rare disappointment for the aforementioned Blackmore.

Henry de Bromhead and Rachael Blackmore after winning the Randox Grand National with Minella Times.Henry de Bromhead and Rachael Blackmore after winning the Randox Grand National with Minella Times.
Henry de Bromhead and Rachael Blackmore after winning the Randox Grand National with Minella Times.

However A Plus Tard was supremely impressive in Haydock’s Betfair Chase in November and will need to show similar form to beat emerging stars like Gordon Elliott’s Galvin.

“I was obviously getting very excited last year.

“I was concerned that my two had gone on and they were going to get picked up by Paul Townend (on Al Boum Photo) at that stage, but they stuck it out really well and it was incredible,” added de Bromhead.

“They’re both in great form and really well this year. A Plus Tard worked really well the other day and Indo had a great run in the Irish Gold Cup, so they’re both really good.

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“Indo’s first run was really good on a sharp track and then when we went to Kempton I was trying to put a square peg into a round hole and that just didn’t work.

“A Plus Tard was really impressive in the Betfair Chase at Haydock and he ran well in the Savills. I was a little disappointed to get beaten but still felt he ran really well.

“I’d say you could argue the Savills is the best form, when he was beaten by Galvin, so I couldn’t really say. I thought he was really impressive at Haydock and I thought he ran really well at Leopardstown. Rachael’s going to ride A Plus Tard.”

Meanwhile Ladronne’s chase victory at Newcastle was another victory for Silsden trainer Tjade Collier who was formerly a jockey with Sue and Harvey Smith.

This was Ladronne’s second success this season under in-form rider Sean Quinlan whose recent high-profile successes included victory in Kelso’s Morebattle Hurdle aboard Brian Ellison’s Cormier.