Sweet 16 for Ireland's darlings Honeysuckle and Rachael Blackmore at Punchestown

Friday: Paddy Power Champion Hurdle, Punchestown

For weeks the Paddy Power Champion Hurdle had been spoken about as a potential showdown between two sublime hurdlers, but the absence of one was barely noticed by an adoring, record-sized Punchestown crowd as Honeysuckle did what she does best to make it a sweet 16th straight win.

Such is her legendary status that anything but victory would have been deemed a disaster for Kenny Alexander's pride and joy, who was sent off 1-5 to beat a field of five rivals she'd already previously conquered.

Saint Roi, who had finished fourth to the Henry de Bromhead-trained superstar at Cheltenham, set an honest gallop, with the great mare doing her own thing under trusted ally Rachael Blackmore in third.

There wasn't the same heart-in-mouth moment as in this race 12 months ago when Sharjah traded at evens in running before missing out by two and a quarter lengths, but another Closutton challenger in Echoes In Rain did her level best to throw down the gauntlet up the straight.

Blackmore and the eight-year-old she knows so well had already written the deciding chapter at the top of the straight, though, when quickening up decisively.

Paddy Power Champion Hurdle full result and race replay

Three lengths separated the pair at the line with a further four lengths back to the JP McManus pair of Darasso and Saint Roi. There was to be no fairytale farewell for the retiring Robbie Power, whose mount Teahupoo trailed the field.

De Bromhead cut the figure of a relieved and elated man as Honeysuckle returned to the winner's enclosure with The Archies' Sugar Sugar blaring out in the background.

Race sponsors Paddy Power made no change to the 2023 Unibet Champion Hurdle market, with the absent Constitution Hill still 2-1 and Honeysuckle 7-2.

It was her 12th top-level success, eclipsing fellow legendary mare Apple's Jade's 11 Grade 1 victories.

"She's just really, really phenomenal," said Blackmore, who paraded the people's champion in front of a record-breaking crowd of 40,984 – up from the biggest single-day attendance record in 2019 of 37,206.

"Henry does some job with her, producing her like this every single day. She was brilliant. We went a fair gallop early on. When you turn in on her and you ask her to find another gear, it's some feeling for a jockey.

Honeysuckle flanked by (from left) Henry de Bromhead, Peter Molony and Rachael Blackmore after the Paddy Power Champion Hurdle at PunchestownCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

"She just does what she has to and I can always feel when there's something coming because she can sense it and kicks on."

De Bromhead described Blackmore and the most dependable mare of all time as a "lethal combination", as he savoured the passionate reception.

The Cheltenham Gold Cup and Grand National-winning trainer said: "The fairytale continues – it's ridiculous. I'm always so negative. I'm always waiting for something bad to happen, but it's amazing. I'm delighted and so lucky to be involved with her.

"She's so straightforward and they're a lethal combination. Rachael is brilliant on her. There's a lot of pressure going out on her nowadays."

Willie Mullins knows all about the pressures involved in training a champion and was full of admiration for both the spectacular winner and his game runner-up.

Blackmore with the trophy after winning the Punchestown Champion HurdleCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

"Echoes In Rain ran a screamer," said Mullins. "She's taken a long time to learn how to settle and I think it's coming, especially after a run like that. I think she can only get better."

He added: "It was a tremendous performance from Honeysuckle and a fantastic team. What she's achieved is huge. She deserves to be mentioned in the same conversation as those great horses of the past – she's a legend in her own lifetime.

"It's just extraordinary what she can do. I don't like comparing champions of different eras, but she's the one of these times. She just keeps pulling out – God knows how good her engine is."

Next season will be the farewell tour for horseracing's biggest equine rockstar. Here's hoping the sweetest tune is still to be played next March for the showdown we all so desperately crave.

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