RACHAEL BLACKMORE and Honeysuckle have been backed to win the Chanelle Pharma Irish Champion Hurdle this weekend for the third consecutive year at Leopardstown on Sunday.
The 8-year-old trained by Henry de Bromhead is a 4/11 favorite to complete the feat, Honeysuckle hasn't been beaten in 14 races and will face up 5 challengers from the likes of Willie Mullins and Gordon Elliot horses such as Appreciate It, Saint Roi, Zanahiyr, Echoes In Rain, Heaven Help Us
The trailblazer said:
“Honeysuckle is just a special mare – she is above and beyond anything else, she has a massive will to win and she has dug deep a few times when she has really had to," Blackmore said today.
“She is very versatile in a lot of different areas and to be able to adapt as she does to different situations, different races and different tactics makes her a dream to ride. Henry and everyone in the yard do a fantastic job with her.
“We were really happy with her performance first-time out at Fairyhouse last November (in the Hatton's Grace Hurdle) – it was a great start to her season. She has a phenomenal record and every day we go out we just try to keep that going.
Blackmore added:
“It’s every jockey’s dream is to be associated with a horse like Honeysuckle in their career and it’s a real privilege to be part of her team. Hopefully we can put up a good show again. We are in countdown mode and looking forward to the weekend getting going now.
“It’s great to have the crowds back - they bring such a special atmosphere. Honeysuckle got an unbelievable reception at the Dublin Racing Festival in 2020 and I really hope we will be walking back into the winners’ enclosure on Sunday."
✅ 2020
✅ 2021
🎩 Honeysuckle and Rachael Blackmore are looking for a hat-trick of Irish Champion Hurdle wins.
Best price - 2/5
Worst price - 3/10
🏇 She'll line up with:
Appreciate It
Saint Roi
Zanahiyr
Echoes In Rain
Heaven Help Us pic.twitter.com/3jTBEU3yo3— oddschecker Racing (@oddsRacing) February 1, 2022
