Hill can edge Honey in epic battle

Robbie Wilders on an enthralling division headlined by two of the most exciting hurdlers the sport has ever seen

RACING fans have been craving an injection of life in the two-mile hurdling division for the past few years, and that is finally what we have.

Opinions will likely be divided across Britain and Ireland concerning who might hold the upper hand between Constitution Hill and Honeysuckle, but rest assured we have two superstars vying for top honours and a rivalry to capture the public’s imagination.

Dual Champion Hurdle queen Honeysuckle has seldom broken sweat in her unbeaten 16-race career, but she has never met a rival of Nicky Henderson’s staggering Supreme Novices’ Hurdle winner’s brilliance.

Constitution Hill can only improve after just three runs, and that is an ominous sign for Honeysuckle, whose team were expecting to face the novice at Punchestown but that clash never materialised.

Aside from the big two, there are other two-milers who add depth to the division and Willie Mullins could yet have a big say. He has three-time Grade 1-winning juvenile Vauban and Appreciate It, who could bounce back if he can put a sequence of good runs together.

A revitalised Epatante claimed two top-level prizes last term and should also continue to pay her way, while Teahupoo is excellent on his day and Goshen could yet make his mark at the highest level when the cards fall right.

Constitution Hill

Five-year-old bay gelding Trainer Nicky Henderson Hurdles form 111 (best RPR 172)

Left-handed 1 (172)

Right-handed 11 (152)

Running to a Racing Post

Rating of 172 is a rare feat for a hurdler, and an even rarer feat for a novice.

The fact Constitution Hill was able to produce such a lofty figure in the Supreme at Cheltenham when slamming subsequent Grade 1 winner Jonbon by 22 lengths is testament to his unusual talents.

Recent history backs that up too. The last time a hurdler ran to an RPR in the 170s was in the 2019 Champion Hurdle when the ill-fated Espoir D’Allen stormed up the Cheltenham Hill for a career-best 171.

The Supreme victory was a marked improvement on Constitution Hill’s two previous runs at Sandown, but he was still learning his job.

He cruised clear for a 12-length success in the Grade 1 Tolworth on only his second start under rules, and the sky is the limit for this ball of speed, who is only five and can only keep progressing.

Going preference Has scored twice on good to soft and once on heavy so seems versatile. ✪✪✪ ✪✪

Honeysuckle

8bm

Trainer Henry de Bromhead

Hurdles form 1111111111111111 (165)

Left-handed 111111 (165)

Right-handed 1111111111 (165) There are great champions and then there is Honeysuckle, who has won her 16 hurdles races by an aggregate of 88 lengths.

While the 12-time Grade 1 winner is the sport’s darling and nobody doubts her brilliance, where she ranks among the all-time greats is up for debate.

The problem for Honeysuckle’s legacy is she has competed in an era in which there have been few other topnotch hurdlers to challenge her.

RPRs of 160, 161,159, and 159 last season also suggest she did not sparkle quite to the same extent as her previous campaign, in which she ran to 165, 165 and 163.

Conversely,

Honeysuckle still scored with plenty under the bonnet on all four outings in 2021-22, and there is a chance a better quality of rival could press her into bringing out even more.

Going preference No worries on any conditions for this prolific winner.

✪✪✪ ✪✪ Appreciate It

8bg

Trainer Willie Mullins

Hurdles form 11117

Left-handed 1117

Right-handed 1 (140)

Nothing went to plan for Appreciate It last term. The eight-year-old was earmarked for novice chasing but an early season injury put paid to those plans, and trainer Willie

Mullins rerouted his 2021 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle winner to the Champion Hurdle.

That he was sent off at just 100-30 to beat Honeysuckle following a year off the track that day is indicative of the lofty reputation he possessed going into the Champion Hurdle.

Appreciate It could manage only seventh behind Honeysuckle, but there were obvious excuses and he remains open to improvement after just five hurdles starts.

Considering his age, perhaps novice chasing will be shelved indefinitely and he will continue his career over hurdles.

If Mullins can bring Appreciate It back to the level that saw him run out an exceptional 24-length Supreme winner, he will still have plenty to offer in the division.

Going preference Likes it soft/ heavy and may have been inconvenienced by quicker conditions in the Champion Hurdle.

✪✪✪✪✪ Vauban 4 ch g

Trainer Willie Mullins

Hurdles form 2111

Left-handed 11 (147)

Right-handed 21 (150)

Another string to Mullins’ bow in the division is Vauban, last season’s dominant juvenile who completed a Grade 1 hat-trick at Punchestown in April and continues to improve on RPRs.

The LeopardstownCheltenham-Punchestown treble is seldom achieved, although it remains to be seen how the form will stack up this season.

Fil Dor filled the runner-up position in all three contests, and was beaten by similar margins in each.

However, Vauban was seriously impressive on each occasion and he avenged his unlucky hurdles debut defeat by the smart Pied Piper in no uncertain terms in the Triumph Hurdle.

Vauban appears to possess every attribute you need in a two-mile hurdler in that he settles, travels and quickens when asked.

He will need to step forward again facing his elders, but has fair claims of being owner Rich Ricci’s latest open-company superstar.

Going preference No obvious preference with winning form on soft and good to soft. ✪✪✪✪✪

Epatante

8bm

Trainer Nicky Henderson

Hurdles form 119111123311213

Left-handed 91113121

Right-handed 1112313

The 2020 Champion Hurdle sits at the top of the six Grade 1 victories this top-class mare has achieved, and she has been the standout British hurdler over the last few years.

Epatante is a two-time winner of both the Fighting

Fifth Hurdle and Christmas Hurdle, but will face a new challenger this time around with her stablemate Constitution Hill likely to tackle those winter highlights.

At eight years of age she remains in her prime years, while the only time this admirably consistent jumper has finished out of the first three in 15 hurdles starts came in her novice days.

Last season also represented something of a resurgence for Epatante, and she proved her ability to stay further than two miles when storming clear by 14 lengths in the Aintree Hurdle over 2m4f.

Going preference Handles anything from good to soft, but untried on heavy over jumps.

✪✪✪✪✪ Teahupoo 5bg

Trainer Gordon Elliott

Hurdles form 111211106

Left-handed 110

Right-handed 112116

The wheels somewhat fell off Teahupoo’s season in the spring, but his previous dominant 11-length victory over Darasso in the Red Mills

Trial Hurdle in February marked him down as arguably the standout horse from the previous season’s strong group of juveniles.

That was the third straight occasion he accounted for the two-time Grade 1-winning fouryear-old Quilixios.

The Racing Post Rating of 165 he recorded at Gowran Park was also the second-highest figure given to a two-mile hurdler last term.

It is still early days for this Gordon Elliott-trained fiveyear-old, who finished last in the Champion Hurdles at Cheltenham and Punchestown.

Quicker ground was perhaps the primary reason for the two disappointments, and it would be no surprise if he regained the winning thread on testing terrain. He remains open to improvement.

Going preference Slower ground desired but has won well on yielding.

✪✪✪✪✪ Others to consider

We can only speculate who among the previous season’s top two-mile novices will remain over hurdles, and there are few more exciting prospects than State Man if Willie Mullins elects to avoid chasing.

A brilliant winner of the County Hurdle, State Man took the step up to Grade 1 company in his stride when a comfortable scorer at the Punchestown festival in April.

Mullins has a near endless supply of firepower in every division, and Sir Gerhard, Dysart Dynamo and El Fabiolo are others to consider if they continue their careers over hurdles.

Echoes In Rain has been kept busy on the Flat this summer, but ran a career-best second to Honeysuckle in the Punchestown Champion Hurdle when last seen over hurdles, and should have more to offer in this sphere.

Sharjah, the stable’s six-time Grade 1 winner, can never be discounted and his campaign will likely revolve around bidding for an incredible fifth straight Matheson Hurdle at Leopardstown in December.

Knight Salute and Pied Piper dead-heated in the juvenile Grade 1 at Aintree and could improve with experience.

VERDICT

That Honeysuckle is widely available at 7-2 for the Champion Hurdle is a massive compliment to Constitution Hill, and bookmakers clearly think Nicky Henderson’s freakish talent, who is a bestpriced 7-4, is likely to usurp Honeysuckle in the division. I would agree with that assessment.

The assumption is Honeysuckle’s camp will favour the tried-and-trusted path of the Hatton’s Grace en route to the Irish Champion, with her eagerly awaited meeting with Constitution Hill probably having to wait until Cheltenham in March.

The pair are miles clear of anything else at this stage, and while Vauban undoubtedly brings star quality to the table, five-year-olds often find their second season over hurdles a challenge.

The overpriced one in the Champion Hurdle could be

40-1 chance Appreciate It ,who was sent off second-favourite for the 2022 running on his seasonal return after a rushed preparation.