One last hurrah! Honeysuckle to be aimed at Mares' Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival

The Mares' Hurdle has been described as a "more realistic" target for Honeysuckle after it was revealed the brilliant nine-year-old will be granted the prospect of a glorious Cheltenham Festival swansong before being retired to the breeding shed.

On Sunday, after the dual Champion Hurdle winner was beaten for a second time under Rachael Blackmore when bidding for a fourth Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown, owner Kenny Alexander and trainer Henry de Bromhead ruled out the possibility of a tilt at a third successive triumph in the Cheltenham showpiece.

With her Leopardstown conqueror State Man and the intimidating prospect of red-hot Champion Hurdle favourite Constitution Hill lying in wait, those closest to her were not keen on forcing the issue with a mare who has already achieved so much.

Retirement was also considered, but Alexander and De Bromhead intimated they were open to the possibility of letting Honeysuckle contest the Close Brothers-sponsored Mares' Grade 1 that she won in 2020.

That should now come to pass, with Alexander's racing manger Peter Molony announcing on Twitter that Sunday's outing was her final run on an Irish racecourse but that she will attempt to win for a fourth time at Cheltenham in March in the Mares' Hurdle.

Molony tweeted: "One last hurrah for Honeysuckle! Barring accidents, injury, illness or extremes of ground, she will be prepared for another tilt at the Mares' Hurdle."

Speaking subsequently to the Racing Post, Molony said: "We think, and most people agree, that she has definitely taken a bit of a step back this year and Kenny would like to give her one last hurrah, and in doing so give her the best possible chance of being competitive, so that's where we've decided to go.

"At the start of the season we believed that she had retained her ability and that she was going to be competitive in the Champion Hurdle division, but I think there is no doubt that she has regressed a little. Watching the race back on Sunday, when Vauban came to pip her for second, she just put the head down and said, 'Not on your life, mate, you're not passing me'. So the fighting spirit is still there, but maybe just a little bit of speed in the legs has gone."

Honeysuckle has tightened up at the head of the market for the Mares’ Hurdle and is now a general 2-1 favourite across the board, with the exception of Unibet, who go 9-4 about her and 2-1 about Marie’s Rock.

Molony added: "It is a super race with some wonderful mares in it. It won't be easy but I do think it is probably more where we are at at the moment. It's more realistic."

Having won 16 races in a row, with her glittering haul of 12 Grade 1 victories including three wins apiece in the Hatton's Grace and Irish Champion Hurdles, Honeysuckle's legacy as the single most prolific jumps mare in modern times is secure.

State Man: beat Honeysuckle by four and three-quarter lengths at LeopardstownCredit: Alan Crowhurst

Notwithstanding her December defeat in the Hatton's Grace Hurdle and Sunday's gallant effort behind rising star State Man, she and Blackmore have won the hearts of jump racing fans the world over.

Last March, Honeysuckle became the first mare to win the Champion Hurdle for a second time. More significantly, her triumph in 2021 saw Blackmore become the first female rider to win any of the championship events at the Cheltenham Festival.

Together, the pair have captured the imagination of the racing public and far beyond, and now they will combine for one last hurrah in the Cotswolds.

"The reception on Sunday was phenomenal," Molony said of the warm applause at Leopardstown on Sunday. "I was talking to Rachael last night and she said when she got to the start she just had a huge grin on her face because of all the cheers and the noise from the crowd on the way down past the stands. It was just phenomenal.

"The public love her and we can see that even from the reaction to the announcement this morning. I think people really want to see her one more time at Cheltenham."

Molony added: "What they've accomplished is huge. You go around the country and people are constantly asking about Honeysuckle and Rachael and can they meet them, especially young girls. It's just amazing. The two of them have really broadened the appeal of the sport, and obviously huge plaudits must go to Henry too. He has got her there race after race, year after year, in tip-top condition. It has been an incredible training performance."

The decision to finish her career in front of a packed crowd at Cheltenham on March 14 means Honeysuckle will not be on duty at the Punchestown festival, where she has won the two most recent editions of the Paddy Power Champion Hurdle. She will instead return to Molony's Rathmore Stud in County Limerick to be prepared for her appointment with Walk In The Park, before ultimately spending the rest of her days at Alexander's stud farm in Scotland.

Constitution Hill is a best-price 4-11 (from 1-3) to win the Champion Hurdle with Betfair, while State Man was cut to 3-1 (from 10-3) following Honeysuckle's defection.

Read more . . .

'That's racing for you' - Honeysuckle vanquished as State Man stakes big-race claim 

Willie Mullins: 'We might bump into a freak but we're living the dream with State Man' 

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