Honeysuckle and Rachael Blackmore lived up to their billing as the Dublin Racing Festival’s headline act with a record breaking success in Sunday’s Leopardstown feature.
Fans starved of going racing for so long even cheered the partnership to the start of the Chanelle Pharma Irish Champion Hurdle and roared their appreciation on the way back as Honeysuckle delivered the perfect result.
Those dismissive of the sport as just a gambling exercise got a perfect riposte in what was a hugely emotional atmosphere.
Odds of 1-5 were the shortest in Honeysuckle’s career and made her all but unbackable.
Beating four demonstrably inferior opponents hardly served much of a competitive purpose either.
However the grip that Blackmore and her unbeaten partner exert on the public imagination meant an almost tangible willingness in the packed stands to see Honeysuckle win in the flesh.
Sure enough the mare extended her unbeaten record to a remarkable 14 races, grabbing the initiative at the second last and extending clear to beat Zanahyir by six and a half lengths.
It equalled the unbeaten 14 race career of the flat superstar Frankel and eclipsed the former Champion Hurdle winner of the 1970’s, Bula, who had also won his first 13 races.
Throw into the mix how Honeysuckle emulated Hurricane Fly and Istabraq by completing a race hat-trick, as well as moving her own Grade 1 tally to 10, and she once more confirmed herself a statistical phenomenon.
Ultimately, though, this will be recalled not for stats but for the fervor of public appreciation of a horse that for so long for so many was just an image on a screen.
“I’m a bit emotional. The crowds are what make it special and that cheer going to the start, where would you get it?” grinned Blackmore.
Trainer Henry De Bromhead was also quick to relish the response to a mare that even in the stellar context of some of her own stable companions seems to stand apart in popular affection.
“We did a lot where there were no crowds around so it’s brilliant to see the crowd appreciating her and giving her and Rachael the reception they got,” he said.
Honeysuckle remains a red-hot 4-7 favourite to retain her Champion Hurdle crown at Cheltenham next month where perhaps the one niggle of doubt going into Sunday’s race might not be removed.
The De Bromhead team’s relatively underwhelming overall form generally in recent weeks introduced that slightly niggle but ultimately proved irrelevant.
“She looked great, jumped well I thought throughout - maybe went a little bit left at one of them - but winged the second last and took off again.
“It felt a long straight after the last but she was brilliant and we’re delighted. It was great - aren’t we lucky to have her?” the trainer said.
“The atmosphere has been amazing today. Every second person you meet says my daughter, or son, is a massive fan of Rachael and Honeysuckle.
“It’s just great having everyone back and isn’t it great she was able to do it on the day,” De Bromhead added.
It summed up the prevailing mood perfectly.
