Irish Champion Hurdle: how good could Honeysuckle be?

How highly do you rate Honeysuckle? That is the poser for punters looking at a fascinating edition of the PCI Irish Champion Hurdle.

You know what you are going to get from Sharjah. He loves Leopardstown and would be three from four at the track over hurdles had he not crashed out at the last in the 2017 Paddy Power Future Champions Novice Hurdle when the race was at his mercy.

That fall was a rare jumping blip from the son of Doctor Dino, who is usually so slick over his hurdles. He posted a Racing Post Rating of 163 when winning the Matheson Hurdle over Christmas, 4lb higher than when landing the same race 12 months earlier. His official mark of 162 looks spot on.