Champion Hurdle

Rachael Blackmore broke new ground when becoming the first female jockey to win the Champion Hurdle last March and her trusty partner Honeysuckle will bid to make further history by becoming the first mare to win two Champion Hurdles.

The unmistaken queen of National Hunt racing stretched her unbeaten sequence to 14 when landing a third consecutive Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown last month, reaching the milestone of a tenth Grade 1 success and also surpassing Bula, who triumphed on his first 13 starts.

Honeysuckle looked as good as ever when landing her third consecutive Grade 1 Hatton’s Grace Hurdle at Fairyhouse in November and again blew her rivals away at the Dublin Racing Festival last month.

Henry de Bromhead’s mare remains the one to beat on official ratings when factoring in her 7lbs mares allowance and, barring incidents, she is by far the most likely winner given her devastating blend of speed and stamina.

Appreciate It chased home his high-class stablemate Ferny Hollow in the 2020 Champion Bumper and is yet to taste defeat since, winning all four of his outings over hurdles last season including the Grade 1 Paddy Power Future Champions Novice Hurdle and the Grade 1 Chanelle Pharma Novices’ Hurdle at Leopardstown, in addition to the Grade 1 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle last March.

The imposing son of Jeremy hasn’t been seen since that 24 length demolition job, with a set-back prompting connections to put a novice chasing campaign on hold and instead take aim at Honeysuckle’s crown.

The lack of a recent run is clearly less than ideal, however, Willie Mullins’ prepared Quevega to win first time out at Cheltenham on multiple occasions, while he also saddled Penhill to land the Grade 1 Stayers Hurdle on his seasonal reappearance in 2018. This is ample proof, if required, that the Closutton maestro can prepare a horse for the Cheltenham Festival at home. 

Appreciate It is perhaps the only runner in this field who already boasts a rating that puts him firmly in contention and still has significant scope for improvement. He will undoubtedly attract support on the day as punters look to oppose the odds-on favourite. 

However, to sound a note of caution, it’s worth noting that Appreciate It beat Ballyadam on his final two starts as a novice, which is questionable form given that the Cheveley Park Stud owned gelding has been disappointing this year.

Teahupoo has emerged as a fascinating contender following three wins from as many starts this season, having claimed the scalp of last season’s Triumph Hurdle hero Quilixios on his first two outings before accounting for the 153 rated Darasso, and Quilixios once again, in the Grade 3 Red Mills Trial Hurdle at Gowran Park.

The progressive five-year-old boasts five victories from just six career starts, with his solitary defeat coming in Grade 2 juvenile company at Fairyhouse last April.

The Masked Marvel gelding reversed the form of that defeat when landing the Grade 3 BetVictor Fishery Lane Hurdle at Naas in November, before displaying guts and stamina when defeating the aforementioned Quilixios in the Grade 2 BoyleSports Sporting Limerick Hurdle in December.

Teahupoo has trodden a similar path to 2019 Champion Hurdle hero Espoir D’Allen, who was also a five-year-old and who also arrived at Prestbury Park with just a single career defeat to his name, demonstrating that, while five-year-old’s don’t have the greatest of records in this contest, smart juvenile hurdlers can develop into genuine Champion Hurdle contenders.

This will naturally be the sternest test that Teahupoo has faced thus far and he will almost certainly require a career best effort in order to reign supreme. However, he is clearly on a steep upward curve and he seemingly possesses the requisite blend of speed and stamina to make his presence felt.

2020 Champion Hurdle heroine Epatante could only place third in defence of her crown 12 months ago and filled the same position behind Honeysuckle in the Grade 1 Paddy Power Champion Hurdle at Punchestown last April.

The JP McManus owned mare dead-heated with the 159 rated Not So Sleepy on her seasonal reappearance in the Grade 1 Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle before heading to Kempton at Christmas to land a second Grade 1 Christmas Hurdle, banishing the memory of her odds-on defeat at the hands of the sadly ill-fated Silver Streak 12 months earlier.

It is clearly encouraging that Epatante is back to winning ways and she could easily feature prominently given the lack of depth in this race. However, she is rated 12lbs inferior to Honeysuckle on official ratings and would need to bounce back to her very best - which may still fall short of what is required - in order to regain her crown.

There was plenty of talk about Zanahiyr as a juvenile last season and he kick-started his first campaign in open company with an eight-lengths success in the Grade 2 WKD Hurdle at Down Royal in October.

The Nathaniel gelding has continued to run well in the highest grade this winter, chasing home dual Champion Hurdle runner-up Sharjah in the Grade 1 Morgiana Hurdle at Punchestown and the Grade 1 Matheson Hurdle at Leopardstown, before finding Honeysuckle too good in the Grade 1 Irish Champion Hurdle last month.

Zanahiyr was only beaten a neck by Sharjah at Christmas and he will be getting stronger by the day having only turned five at the beginning of the year.

Adagio improved with each start last season and ran a huge race to place second in the Grade 3 Greatwood Hurdle in November - only giving way to a well handicapped rival in the care of Dan Skelton.

David Pipe’s charge carried top-weight on that occasion and earned a 5lbs rise to a mark of 152. It goes without saying that further improvement will be necessary in order to feature prominently in this contest. However, his course form is solid and he is going in the right direction.

Tommy’s Oscar also boasts a progressive profile having won his last four starts culminating in a smooth 5 lengths success in the Grade 2 ‘The New One’ Unibet Hurdle at Haydock.

Ann Hamilton’s stable star has climbed 18lbs in the ratings to a mark of 156 and clearly deserves to take his chance at this level. However, it is worth noting that the horses he beat at Haydock were rated 136, 143, 137, 133 and 124 respectively, therefore he was entitled to win that contest in such a manner off level weights.

2020 County Hurdle winner Saint Roi has failed to live up to expectations since and could only place third in the Grade 1 Matheson Hurdle at Christmas and fourth in the Grade 1 Irish Champion Hurdle last month. While Not So Sleepy, who dead-heated with the aforementioned Epatante in the Grade 1 Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle, is clearly smart on his day, but boasts form-figures of P5 in the last two renewals of this race.

Both appear to have place claims at most.

Champion Hurdle 2022 Prediction

Honeysuckle is the undisputed queen of National Hunt Racing and she is undoubtedly the one to beat if everything goes to plan. Appreciate It rates a fascinating proposition based on both his bumper and novice hurdle exploits; however, the form of his Grade 1 victories last season are questionable. 

Zanahiyr has been running consistently all season and holds place claims. While Epatante could also hit the frame if returning to the peak of her powers. 

However, it may be worth taking a chance on the deeply progressive TEAHUPOO given that he is likely to be suited by the strong pace and gruelling climb to the line. The talented son of Masked Marvel arrives fit and well following three wins from as many starts this season and he could easily take another huge step forwards.