No fireworks but Honeysuckle extends flawless record with second Hatton's Grace

She didn’t fillet her opposition as she had done 12 months earlier but the indomitable Honeysuckle’s sustained acceleration and meticulous precision at the final two flights ensured the outcome to the 2020 Hatton’s Grace Hurdle was the same.

This time, in extending her unbeaten record to nine, she was clinical rather than dominant.

With Fury Road withdrawn from the baroneracing.com backed Grade 1, Kenny Alexander’s brilliant mare was left to face just five rivals, all of whom had plenty to find on official ratings, given she was receiving 7lb.

On the flip side, four of those rivals had the benefit of a recent run, in contrast to Honeysuckle, who was last seen when beating Benie Des Dieux in the Mares' Hurdle at Cheltenham in March. It mattered little. Sent off at 4-11, the six-year-old tracked the pace-setting Cracking Smart early on, Rachael Blackmore glad of the lead but biding her time carefully.

When Honeysuckle made ground at a hurdle, she kept taking her back, filling her mount with confidence. However, when they touched down in front three-out, she did not disappoint her.

From there, the pace went from pedestrian to pulsating, but Blackmore had ensured she had first run on the field. Given the rate of knots they were rattling at down over the final two flights, she needed Honeysuckle not to miss. As if.

Her precocious partner has evolved into the consummate pro, and measured both obstacles to a nicety. Sean Flanagan had ghosted on to Honeysuckle’s girth on the race-fit Beacon Edge, waiting to pounce if she fluffed her lines, but that prospect never materialised.

Ronald Pump, to his credit, finished with a flourish to thwart Beacon Edge by a head and get within half a length of the winner at the line. While it made for a fleetingly dramatic spectacle, by then Blackmore and Honeysuckle had done enough to emulate fellow mares Solerina and Apple’s Jade by securing the €100,000 event more than once.

“She has a great will to win,” a delighted trainer Henry de Bromhead gushed. “They were hard at it down to the last, but she toughed it out well. She didn't look how her odds suggested, but it was brilliant.

“It was her first run since March, so you want to try and have them as straight as you can without overdoing it, bearing in mind the season ahead. Last year we were able to go for the conditions hurdle here earlier in the month. But it's great we've won it. I'm delighted, and hopefully she will step forward for it.”

Honeysuckle remains unbeaten for Henry de Bromhead (left) and Rachael Blackmore (right)Credit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

Honeysuckle will now bid for her second PCI Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown in February. De Bromhead would not be drawn conclusively on whether she could bypass the mares’ race to take on Epatante in the Champion Hurdle, but he reinforced the sense that all concerned are more open to that possibility this time around.

“I wouldn't like to speak for Kenny Alexander or [racing manager] Peter Molony, but I suppose it's lovely to have your Mares' Hurdle banked, so we'll see,” De Bromhead said. “We'll aim for the PCI Irish Champion Hurdle, see how that goes and and see how it all unfolds.”

Honeysuckle was left largely unchanged at around 3-1 for a second Mares' Hurdle, and likewise remains a top-priced 16-1 after layers declined to shorten her for the Champion Hurdle.

Blackmore might have been sporting a mask, but there was no concealing her glee after what was the tenth Grade 1 of her career, half of which have now been provided by Honeysuckle.

“She is incredible,” she said of the daughter of Sulamani. “It was a bit of a sprint in the end, but I was happy all the time – she was great.”

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