Honeysuckle gives Irish crowds taste of what to expect at Cheltenham

There were no travelling fans at Cheltenham last March to see Ireland win all but five of the 28 races but there was a sense here on Sunday of the atmosphere that surely awaits next month, as a string of Ireland’s major contenders prepared for the Festival with effortless victories.

Honeysuckle, whose climb to the top of the hurdling division has largely unfolded in front of empty stands, even got a cheer as she cantered to post for the Irish Champion Hurdle, and while few in the crowd would have seen much point in backing her at 1-5, the reception for Rachael Blackmore’s mount after an easy six-and-a-half length success was long and loud. On this form, there is little chance that Honeysuckle will surrender what is now a 14-race unbeaten record in the Champion Hurdle on 15 March, and every sign that she could still be getting better.

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“They were great again, the pair of them,” Henry de Bromhead, Honeysuckle’s trainer, said. “She jumped well throughout, maybe went a little bit left at one of them but winged the second-last and took off again. She’s brilliant and Rachael’s a brilliant rider and when you put them together, they’re deadly.”

Honeysuckle is unchanged with most bookmakers at around 4-7 for the Champion Hurdle, the feature event on the opening day of the Festival, and her victory here was the third leg of a short-priced four-timer for Cheltenham contenders as Galopin Des Champs, Chacun Pour Soi and Sir Gerhard took the other three Grade One races on the card.

All three are trained by Willie Mullins and Chacun Pour Soi will join his stable companion, Energumene, in the line-up for the Queen Mother Champion Chase on 16 March, when