Honeysuckle and Rachael Blackmore© Photo Healy Racing
Honeysuckle bids to take her unbeaten record under National Hunt rules to nine when she goes for back-to-back victories in the Baroneracing.com Hatton’s Grace Hurdle at Fairyhouse tomorrow.
Five of her wins have come at the County Meath venue, including this race last year when she broke Apple’s Jade’s stranglehold in the two-and-a-half-mile feature.
After winning the Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown in February, Henry de Bromhead’s brilliant mare ended a lucrative 2019-20 campaign when lowering the colours of Benie Des Dieux in the Mares’ Hurdle at Cheltenham.
The Waterford handler said recently: "She's not a mare that would take a huge amount of work, so you wouldn't be working her a lot at home.
"Fairyhouse seems to have a lot of nice mares' races there and they provide such good ground for their bigger days, so it's great to be able to run them there.
"You could run her over any distance. She's very adaptable.
"She could run over fences one day. She is achieving so much over hurdles but, in fairness to her, some days she loose schools over a fence so she's keeping her eye in with it.
"Touch wood, she seems very good with it. We'll see, but that could happen.
"She's brilliant and we're lucky to have her. It was a great performance that day (last year). She seems in good form so hopefully she can have another good go at it this time."
Her six rivals include the Willie Mullins-trained Bacardys, who was beaten nine lengths in second place in this race 12 months ago.
Gordon Elliott is two-handed with recent Grade Two Punchestown scorer Fury Road and Cracking Smart.
Jessica Harrington’s Supasundae runs in this race for a third time after finishing second in 2017 and 2018.
Matthew Smith’s Ronald Pump, runner-up in last season’s Stayers’ Hurdle, and Noel Meade’s Beacon Edge complete the septet.
“Beacon Edge is in great form but whether he’s up to this or not we’ll find out. It’s going to be hard for anyone to give the weight away to the mare. We’ll find out where we stand," commented Meade.
Meanwhile Smith is thankful to have Ronald Pump fit and raring to go. He said: “Ronald Pump is in good form and is jumping well since his fall. Thank God he was one hundred per cent after the fall.
“It’s a very good race and a stepping stone to Christmas. Hopefully he runs his race and we can then think about the three-mile race at Leopardstown.”
