No sleep for Elliott and not much for Honeysuckle but at last they are here

A busy day followed by a long night and nothing like enough sleep. It's a pattern familiar to devotees of the Cheltenham Festival but also to Honeysuckle and her male companion. On a morning filled with building excitement, he admitted to feeling the effects much more than her.

After the gentlest of morning workouts she stood chewing grass in the middle of the racecourse while a small handful of fortunate admirers gained a close-up look at the marvellous mare who on Tuesday seeks to retain her Unibet Champion Hurdle crown. By then the house will be heaving. At 9am on Sunday there was just her, us and a dazzling array of Irish excellence.

Gordon Elliott, buzzing like a kid at Christmas, had already taken his first lot of 12 horses back to the stables by the time six members of Henry de Bromhead's string arrived literally centre stage. With the racecourse all around them, they completed three circuits of the all-weather gallop, only briefly breaking into a canter. This was merely a chance to stretch the legs, to savour the calm before the impending storm.