Cheltenham Festival News: Honeysuckle facing "biggest test" yet in cracking Champion Hurdle
- Planet Sport writer
- 15 March 2022
There are few races in the jumps game where an unbeaten champion is under so much pressure but that is the strength in depth of the Unibet Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham with Honeysuckle.
Unbeaten wonder-mare Honeysuckle brings back memories of Istabraq and could go off the shortest price for the Champion Hurdle since Aidan O'Brien's legend as she defends her crown on Tuesday, March 15.
Three times Champion Hurdle winner Istabraq was 8-15 when going off for his big-race hat-trick. Honeysuckle is 8-13 with many firms.
Henry de Bromhead's mare hasn't tasted defeat in 14 starts, with her 10 Grade 1 victories including three Irish Champion Hurdles and last year's success in the Cheltenham hurdling feature.
"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," said De Bromhead.
"I've been told that Honeysuckle could go off as the shortest-priced Champion Hurdle favourite this century, 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."
Epatante, the Champion Hurdle winner in 2020 looks to continue her renaissance and is bidding to emulate Hurricane Fly, in 2011 and 2013, by regaining her crown.
Nicky Henderson's charge was third to Honeysuckle in both Cheltenham and Punchestown Champion Hurdles last spring but has done nothing wrong in her two starts this winter, dead-heating for first place in the Fighting Fifth and winning the Christmas Hurdle outright.
"We set off at the beginning of the season and JP (McManus, owner) said we have two objectives this year - the Fighting Fifth and the Christmas Hurdle. That is what we wanted and we nearly got it. We got one and a half which was great," said Henderson.
"I thought at Kempton she was great and she really did look like her old self. She was hurdling like she always used to and tanked Nico (de Boinville, jockey) into the race. She doesn't normally go on that early but she was all for getting home and getting back to bed, and she was off.
"We've still got one big problem in front of us (Honeysuckle). She has looked very good and she will be very hard to beat, but I do think we are at least back where we were (with Epatante) when she won her Champion Hurdle. That might not have been the strongest field in the world and I'm the first to admit that."
Appreciate It is high class for Willie Mullins but has not run since taking the Supreme 12 months ago but the heavyweight Irish trainer suggests the eight-year-old has a "big chance".
"He was going chasing, but then he got injured and we said we couldn't break his novice this late in the season. It was a fairly easy decision to go back hurdling after that," said the Closutton trainer.
"Appreciate It loves the track - he went well there last year. I'm happy he's going to go there with a big chance.
"He's a strong horse. I know we haven't had a run, but we've done that before.
"I'd say we have a good record for doing that (running well first time out at the Festival), but I don't know whether we've done it for the Champion Hurdle.
"It's all to play for I think, but we have a big hurdle to jump (in Honeysuckle)."
Gordon Elliott is content with Zanahiyr and Teahupoo despite having the utmost respect for Honeysuckle.
"I think the track will suit Zanahiyr and we're going to put cheekpieces on, not because he's ungenuine but to help him early in the race because he's a bit behind the bridle," he said.
"Honeysuckle has been awesome the last couple of years and there's probably not a person in racing that wouldn't love to see her win. My horse is in good form, he has six and a half lengths to find from Leopardstown, but I think the track will suit him better, However, she looks very good. I think he's got a good each-way chance.
"Teahupoo will take his chance. He's improving and it's kind of hard to know what he has as he doesn't show much at home, but when he goes to the track, he keeps improving. We don't know how good he is to be honest."
Of the outsiders, Tommy's Oscar has been a boon for small string trainer Ann Hamilton and her husband Ian, who owns the seven-year-old that has won his last four races.
"He worked on Tuesday last week and it did the job. Then we schooled him on Wednesday, and he was brilliant. To be honest, I was keen to go to the Morebattle Hurdle myself, as it's just up the road and it was a £100,000 race," said Ian Hamilton.
"Brian Hughes and everyone else has been telling us that it's not very often that you have a horse good enough to go to Cheltenham, so we've got to go for it. He was impressed with him the other night when he worked with him and he said he felt good - so for him to say that he must be all right, because he's quite modest.
"I don't think he's beaten a top-class horse yet, but he's improving so you just don't know. He hasn't beaten a Champion Hurdle horse, but he hasn't faced one yet, so we'll see. Hopefully he does it on Tuesday!
"He's improving all the time and when he won the Champion Hurdle Trial at Haydock, I saw a comparison with the novices' race that Jonbon won. He was a good few seconds faster, so it was a good time for the ground.
"He's just a bit nervy, so it'll be whether he's able to handle the Cheltenham crowd on the day. He's got a hood for the parade ring and then we'll take it off and then he should be OK in the race itself."
