Honeysuckle still as sweet as ever as she bids for record fourth Hatton's Grace

Sunday: 2.30 Fairyhouse
Bar One Racing Hatton's Grace Hurdle (Grade 1) | 2m3½f | 4yo+ | RTE/RTV

Honeysuckle seems to have spent her whole career making history and yet another milestone will be reached if she makes it win number 17 here.

Apple's Jade, Limestone Lad and Solerina all completed a hat-trick of Hatton's Grace Hurdle wins in their stellar careers, but none of them managed to win a fourth.

Honeysuckle would break more new ground if she justifies odds-on favouritism, and the man who knows her better than anyone reports her to be in prime condition ahead of her eagerly awaited comeback.

Trainer Henry de Bromhead has reassured Honeysuckle's adoring fans that there have been no hiccups in preparation for her seasonal reappearance and is looking forward to starting a campaign that could end in her emulating legends like Istabraq, See You Then, Persian War, Sir Ken and indeed Hatton's Grace by winning a third Champion Hurdle.

De Bromhead said: "Honeysuckle seems good. She's been in great form at home anyway. Preparation wise, we've followed a similar prep to last year in the lead-up to the Hatton's Grace and we're looking forward to the race."

Honeysuckle was sent off 8-11 for last season's Champion Hurdle and 11-10 the season before, yet she is as big as 4-1 with most firms to add a third title next March.

A colossus who goes by the name Constitution Hill is to blame for that following his flawless Fighting Fifth display, but all Honeysuckle can do is keep winning and another victory here would edge her within two of Altior's remarkable 19-race winning streak.

Speaking earlier in the week, Honeysuckle's owner Kenny Alexander was positive about not only her Hatton's Grace return, but also prospects of defending her Champion Hurdle crown in March.

He said: "I think she's in good form and we'll find out on Sunday. I just let Henry get on with it and he's a genius. I'm always a bit nervous for the first [run], and I was the same last year, because you never really know if they're as good as they were the year before. But everything I've heard is positive.

"This is definitely her last year and I think she'll run in the same four races as she did last year, hopefully. I'm really looking forward to Sunday as it's an important race with her going for a fourth win."

Townend dreaming of taking down Honeysuckle at long last with Klassical

Willie Mullins has tried and failed miserably to take down Honeysuckle with 22 different horses, but could number 23 be the first to dethrone the queen of jump racing?

Klassical Dream is the newest challenger to Honeysuckle and he has six Grade 1 wins on his CV including the 2019 Supreme at Cheltenham. He is smart in his own right, but jockey Paul Townend is well aware of the magnitude of the task facing him.

"We have the unenviable job of taking on Honeysuckle and we'll give it a crack," Townend said in his Ladbrokes blog.

"Klassical Dream has been a very good horse over the years. Obviously, he's had his troubles throughout a couple of seasons but, fingers crossed, we have him on the right road now. He won well at Punchestown and dropping down to 2m4f shouldn't be a worry as he's a Supreme winner. It's just going to be hard to crack Honeysuckle. Nobody has done it yet, but we'll give it a shot."

What they say

Willie Mullins, trainer of Klassical Dream, Echoes In Rain and Saldier
This is going to be a very tough race for our team with Honeysuckle hard to beat. Klassical Dream is starting his season here, even though he'll probably need a longer trip to be competitive. Honeysuckle usually doesn't hang around and if it became a very testing two-and-a-half miles, that might bring him into it. Echoes In Rain probably hasn't got the rating to trouble the top ones in here but Patrick was keen to ride her and thinks there's a lot of potential improvement. At this stage of Saldier's career, he probably needs the extra half mile. Hopefully, he can run into a place.

Jessica Harrington, trainer of Ashdale Bob
He had a good run in the Lismullen Hurdle at Navan. He's obviously stepping up in class running in this one, but we're hoping that he'll be able to run a big race and get placed for us.

Gavin Cromwell, trainer of Darver Star
We're delighted with him. He's put in a number of good performances recently and seems to be in good nick. We're looking forward to it. Honeysuckle is a super mare and we're going to struggle to put it up to her, but hopefully we can make some kind of a race of it.

Gordon Elliott, trainer of Sire Du Berlais and Teahupoo
Teahupoo is a very talented horse on his day and we learnt plenty about him last season. The softer the ground the better he is. Sire Du Berlais has been unbelievable over the years. He's a gentleman of a horse around the yard, and everyone loves him. He's a star, but he tends to wait until the spring to show his true colours. He seems to get better the further on in the season he goes.

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