Cheltenham Festival News: Honeysuckle heads tasty 10 left in Champion Hurdle
Cheltenham off the agenda for German hope Estacas
A delectable Champion Hurdle field is headed by super-mare Honeysuckle after ten runners were left in at the confirmation stage for entries for the Cheltenham Festival race on Tuesday, March 15.
Henry De Bromhead's wonder-mare Honeysuckle tops ten runners left in the Unibet Champion Hurdle after the confirmation stage for the race which takes place on Tuesday, March 15.
Honeysuckle has won every one of her 14 career starts and claimed a third Irish Champion Hurdle victory at Leopardstown in February
The eight-year-old won the 2021 Champion Hurdle by a solid six-and-a-half-lengths under Rachael Blackmore and is odds-on to score again.
Willie Mullins' Appreciate It can give Honeysuckle a race though, having his first start since lifting the Supreme Novices' Hurdle on this card last year.
The eight-year-old was an impressive 24-length winner that day and he could be joined by fellow entrant and stablemate Saint Roi, who was behind Honeysuckle at Leopardstown last time.
Gordon Elliott's pair of Teahupoo and Zanahiyr are somewhat dark horses and complete the Irish challenge, with the latter needing to find six and a half lengths with Honeysuckle on Irish Champion Hurdle form.
Nicky Henderson's Epatante is perhaps the UK's leading chance of taking the Champion Hurdle, with the 2020 winner having a bit of a renaissance.
She was only third behind Honeysuckle at Cheltenham last year, but has been boosted by a shared Fighting Fifth victory and outright success in the Christmas Hurdle.
Epatante dead-heated with Hughie Morrison's Not So Sleepy at Newcastle and the ten-year-old also gets the nod along with Christmas Hurdle runner-up Glory And Fortune from Tom Lacey's yard.
The 10 possibles are completed by Tommy's Oscar, who will represent Ann Hamilton after winning his last four starts, including Haydock's Champion Hurdle Trial and the David Pipe-trained Adagio.
Monmiral, My Mate Mozzie, Tritonic and Quilixios were the four not confirmed.
