Road to the Champion Hurdle 2023

Two thing, for the record.

One, Hurricane Fly never, ever “scraped home” in the Royal Bond - he was produced to lead late on, and won cosily.

Two, you backed England? Disgrace!!!!
 
Grasshopper said:
PJ, she’s beaten under 3L by a G1 winning hurdler, and another who loves heavy ground that’s probably improved for the trip. It’s not like she’s sulked and been hammered out the park. In pure form terms, today’s effort is probably better than her run in the same race when she beat Ronald Pump.

On my viewing, there’s absolutely nothing to suggest today, that she’s gone at the game - or on the verge of being so.
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I wouldn't disagree with this but do think what it will take out of her too

You could argue last March was the start of her sub peak


Being gone at the Game is one thing but for a mare who the owner wants to get out safely, I wonder what they will put her through

Rte raved about how she looked today but to me she never looked like a bully through the race and it just didn't seem like her when they passed her

Teahupoo crabs klassical dreams form, State Man awaits both of them

Plenty of good horses get bet first time out and I do hope we see her in Feb
 
Desert Orchid said:
I keep saying, I find it very easy to forgive a disappointing seasonal debut.
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Well, there’s disappointing and disappointing. I think the runs of both Honeysuckle and APT will have caused some serious head scratching in the de Bromhead camp.
 
Grasshopper said:
Two thing, for the record.

One, Hurricane Fly never, ever “scraped home” in the Royal Bond - he was produced to lead late on, and won cosily.

Two, you backed England? Disgrace!!!!
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You'd start a fight in an empty room:lol: For the record...........ridden and strongly pressed run-in, kept on well under pressure RACING POST

I have the right my father was English....I think it was about 34 minutes gone Englamd went 2.08 on Betfair and I backed them again,,,,,,,,,a few munutes later they were 1.21 :)
 
barjon said:
Well, there’s disappointing and disappointing. I think the runs of both Honeysuckle and APT will have caused some serious head scratching in the de Bromhead camp.
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This is a good point. I haven’t watched to see how everything else has been running but sometimes bugs can lurk in the yard and only affect certain horses. Bit like us, I guess, no everyone gets the seasonal lurgies that are going around.
 
Grey said:
I hope Honeysuckle comes back as good as ever this season but I fear she won’t. State Man could turn out to be the best in Ireland this time round.
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I think that Honeysuckle can still win some good races but I fear that the killer top gear she had has gone. For me doubts started to set in when Echoes In Rain (where would she have finished yesterday but for falling?) ran on late and got to within a few lengths of her at Punchestown. People might blame yesterday’s trip and ground for her defeat but I think that at her peak she would have coped.

Regarding the A Plus Tard disappointment at Haydock, I have a nasty suspicion that the flourish he produced to pull out fifteen lengths after the last fence in the Gold Cup has cost him.
 
My biggest concern with Honeysuckle is not the mare herself but more so the fact that she is a mare

Yes it does read as a literal contrdiction

A burly 10 year old chaser, you can forgive a bad run fto but she stripped fit as is generally light enough framed, it is a well worn path with her and goinf to the last it was hers to pwoer on with

I see Art's point and note he has made the same point about the mare and other mares training on and eventually souring to the game

If she does have a redemption day, it will be magic

The sport of racing much like boxing, loves a comeback story and next years DRF will be the real winner from her finishing position yesterday

All eyes on State man over Christmas now
 
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I am hoping jinnyj’s thought of some bug is right, particularly since it would be a bit of a co-incidence to see two stars burn out at the same time. Certainly, though, I thought the runs of both of them were too far below par to be excused by “needing the run” since HdB would surely have had them fit enough. I also thought that Rachael never looked as placid as usual and always seemed to be doing more riding, if you see what I mean, much more obviously with APT than with Honeysuckle.

I’ll keep my fingers crossed.
 
I still maintain that Honeysuckle has probably run close to the best of her form in previous Hatton's Grace hurdles - or at least the one which came on Soft ground (2020).

She is a strong stayer at 2m, and swung into the straight looking all over the winner yesterday, before folding a bit between the last two.

I think a lot of people look at how quickly Apple's Jade, Vroum Vroum Mag (and some others we could mention) regressed towards the end of their careers, and are reading a bit too much into it, tbh. Returned to 2m, I reckon she will give all the top Irish hurdlers - State Man included - plenty to think about at the DRF.

Like reet and others, I agree that Constitution Hill will not be beaten in Cheltenham, but reports of Honeysuckle's demise are a little premature, imo.
 
granger said:
Henry on Racing TV now indicating mares hurdle could be honey's March target
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Can't understand why connections would risk her in that tuppenny-ha'penny shitbox of a race.

If they swerve the Champion Hurdle, they should swerve Cheltenham altogether. Winning a Mares Hurdle will do nothing to enhance her reputation.
 
5/2 about Honeysuckle without Constitution Hill look a great bet.

More chance of Lola running in the mares then her.

On her next visit she\'' pizz up and all of a sudden the Champion Hurdle will be back in the picture and the 5/2 will be 1/1
 
We all knew CH is a monster, now he's beaten Epetante a piece further than he did at Newcastle.:adore::adore:
 
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Interesting that they're talking up Epatante as much as they are.

If she ran to her current OR of 154 then CH has given her a 26lbs beating without breaking sweat. That would take him up to 180, as mentioned earlier on the thread.

If she was 'as good as ever', which saw her rated 162, then we're starting to run out of superlatives.
 
10/10 the forecast didn't do me much good as I lost what I won.

I can't knock Constitution Hill at all he is simply the best I've seenin my lifetime.

To think he might go chasing someday.we can but dream.

No getting away from it Epatante is no slouch she would have won 2 Grade 1's yat again if not for him.

She's probably as good now as she was when finishing 2nd to Honeysuckle. She certainly would have won by half teh track today without breaking sweat if she didn't use up petrol chasing the impossible.

Anyway she'll go to the Mares I reckon and Honeysuckle will take on Constutution Hill.

If she wins her next race and there is no signs of her going backwards and HDB doesn't give the mare a chance he should not be training her IMO.
 
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