The Times - UK (2022-03-15)

CHELTENHAM

2022

3

Facile Vega —

Champion Bumper

— tomorrow

Willie Mullins bids for

a remarkable 12th

success in this race,

with Facile Vega, who

has won both starts in

easy fashion. Whether

he deserves to be

such a hot favourite is

open to doubt,

though, with the

Gordon Elliott-trained

American Mike

having been at least

as impressive.

BUST

sport’s greatest backdrop

ROB WRIGHT’S RACE OF THE DAY

CHAMPION HURDLE 3.30 PM, ITV THE RUNNERS ANALYSED

PAC E

STAT OF THE DAY

ROB’S FINAL WORD

Not a big field for the hurdling crown but

there is unlikely to be a shortage of early

pace, with Teahupoo, Appreciate It and

Not So Sleepy all likely to race

prominently. Zanahiyr and Honeysuckle

are likely to track the front-runners. Can

any of Honeysuckle’s rivals can match

her turn of foot off the home turn?

Teahupoo

Appreciate It

Not So Sleepy

Zanahiyr, Honeysuckle

The undulations of Cheltenham do not

suit every horse, so having proven

experience of the track is an advantage.

The first two days of the meeting are run

on the Old Course, which is slightly less

of a test of stamina than the New Course

that hosts the final two days.

Start

TRACK

Mares have come to the

fore in recent years,

winning three of the

past six renewals,

but none has won

the Champion

Hurdle twice.

There have

been five triple

winners and ten

dual scorers.

Honeysuckle and

Epatante, the mares

who won in 2020 and

2021, try to join that list

CLASSHighest class each horse has won at

Adagio

Appreciate It

Not So Sleepy

Epatante

Honeysuckle

GRADE 1 GRADE 2 GRADE 3

Teahupoo

Tommy’s

Oscar

Zanahiyr

Saint Roi

The ground is drying, despite 4mm of

rain on Saturday. It will be faster than it

has been for most of the past few

months, which could bring some

improved performances

GOING Good to soft

Honeysuckle is a

red-hot favourite

but with good

reason. Unbeaten in

14 starts, ten at the

highest level, and

twice a Festival

winner, weaknesses

are hard to find. She

can see off the

up-and-coming

Teahupoo and last

year’s Supreme

Novices’ Hurdle

winner Appreciate It

De Bromhead: Short price

puts extra pressure on us

The trainer Henry de Bromhead, whose

horse Honeysuckle looks set to be the

shortest-priced favourite for the

Champion Hurdle for more than two

decades, says the optimism from punters

brings extra pressure.

Istabraq was 8-15 when Aidan

O’Brien’s horse won the last of his three

titles in 2000, but Honeysuckle is 8-13

with many bookmakers, slightly shorter

than Buveur D’Air, who was 4-6 when

winning for a second time in 2018.

De Bromhead’s mare, ridden by

Rachael Blackmore, is unbeaten in 14

starts under rules, with her ten grade-

one victories including three Irish

Champion Hurdles and last year’s

success in the Cheltenham feature.

“I suppose on ratings it possibly is her

biggest test so far, but it’s as you’d expect

this race to be. It’s really competitive and

there’s some great horses in there —

much like last year,” De Bromhead said.

“I’ve been told that Honeysuckle could

go off as the shortest-priced Champion

Hurdle favourite this century, but I had

no idea. It’s probably more pressure in

that of course you want her to win, but

it’s like with any of them, you want them

to run their best race.

“It would be unbelievable stuff if she

could win again — there’s not many that

can win two Champion Hurdles, so it

would be incredible. Her unbeaten run is

amazing but all we can do is get her

there as well as we possibly can and then

hope we have a bit of luck.”

Epatante, winner in 2020, bids to

emulate Hurricane Fly, who won this

race in 2011 and 2013, by regaining her

crown. Nicky Henderson’s charge was

third to Honeysuckle at Cheltenham and

Punchestown last spring.

“We’ve still got one big problem in

front of us [Honeysuckle],” Henderson

said. “She has looked very good and

she will be very hard to beat, but I do

think we are at least back where we were

with Epatante when she won her

Champion Hurdle.”

ROB WRIGHT’S FULL TIPS ON PAGES 6&7

BANKER

OR BUST?

ROB WRIGHT’S

GUIDE TO WHETHER

YOU SHOULD BACK

THE WEEK’S HOT

FAVOURITES

Allaho — Ryanair Chase — Thursday

This 2½ -mile trip is ideal for Allaho, as he showed when landing

this prize by 12 lengths last year. He looked as good as ever

when beating subsequent grade one winner Fakir D’Oudairies

at Thurles in January and it is difficult to see who will beat

him here.

BANKER

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DAVID DAVIES/JOCKEY CLUB/PA