The Cheltenham Festival is just around the corner, with a matter of weeks to go until jumps racing fanatics and casual followers of the sport alike are treated to four days of top-class action at the iconic Cotswolds venue.
Such is the state of jumps racing at the minute that all roads lead to the Festival, with one eye already on the next year’s renewal oftentimes before this year has even ended. But that can lead to disappointment, as big-name horses can be ruled out in an instant or we might not be treated to the blockbuster clashes we envisioned.
The perfect example of that was the much-anticipated and talked about the encounter between Honeysuckle and Constitution Hill.
When the latter romped him in the Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle last March, doing so in record fashion, followed by Honeysuckle’s second-straight Champion Hurdle — all anybody could think about was the pair going hoof-to-hoof in the next renewal of day one’s feature and the Cheltenham 2023 odds already started to fluctuate.
12 months on though, and that bubble has well and truly burst. The Henry de Bromhead-trained mare was beaten for the first time in 17 races at Fairyhouse in December, and while many claimed it was too soon to write her off, a second successive loss in the Irish Champion Hurdle at the recent Dublin Racing Festival confirmed that she was not up for the task of taking on Constitution Hill.
De Bromhead and Honeysuckle’s connections have chucked in the towel as far as going for a third Champion Hurdle is concerned, which has been met with a mix of mass fury and acceptance from the wider horse racing community.
Some might not agree with the decision, with a number of high-profile pundits slamming the verdict, but the good news for Honeysuckle fans is that she is not done just yet — as she is remaining in training for the Grade 1 Mares’ Hurdle, which she won by a half a length from Benie Des Dieux in 2020.
And, the nine-year-old has a fantastic chance of signing off her wonderful career with a win in the two-mile, four-furlong contest — jumping straight to the fore of the ante-post market at 5/2 when owner Kenny Alexander’s racing manager Peter Molony confirmed she was being retargeted at the Mares’ Hurdle.
While the main reason people are getting upset about the decision is that they feel Honeysuckle’s connections are shying away from the competition, the Mares’ Hurdle is by no means an easy contest nor a guaranteed win for the nine-year-old as she is set to face some top-level opposition.
Marie’s Rock was the favorite to defend her crown before Honeysuckle’s connections made it clear that the Champion Hurdle was out of the equation, and the Nicky Henderson-trained horse is a course and distance specialist at Cheltenham having won the Mares’ Hurdle last year and the Grade 2 Relkeel Hurdle against the boys on New Year’s Day.
However, Henderson revealed at his recent media day at Seven Barrows that he might reroute the Middleham Park Racing-owned star for the Stayers’ Hurdle despite having never been tested over three miles due to the competitive nature of the Mares’ Hurdle and the fact there is no standout contender for the Stayers’.
If that is to be the case, Honeysuckle’s old rival and former Champion Hurdle winner Epatante, Brandy Love, Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle winner Love Envoi and Echoes In Rain will still make for a competitive renewal of the Mares’ Hurdle.
But will Honeysuckle get the send-off she deserves late on the opening day?
The entire crowd in attendance on Champions Day will certainly hope they can roar her and Rachael Blackmore, who is the fifth favorite to regain the Ruby Walsh trophy if you’re looking for a Cheltenham top jockey bet, into the winner’s enclosure at around 4:15.
But there’s no doubt that she is no longer at the level she was once and a younger horse like Brandy Love or Echoes In Rain could prove a thorn in the side, while Marie’s Rock will be a real danger if she does in fact stay in this race as opposed to being switched to the Stayers’.
After all, nobody lies down for the legends at the Cheltenham Festival, just look at how Tiger Roll’s swansong in the Cross Country ended last year.