Don’t Turn Honeysuckle Into Another Quevega

Honeysuckle maintained her unbeaten record on Sunday with a scintillating performance to win the Hatton’s Grace, further enhancing her already massive stock in our horse racing tips. She could be something special, and that’s why I really hope that connections don’t shirk the big issue at the Cheltenham Festival, and here’s why.

She’s Classy Enough

Unbeaten in four starts last term, including a Grade 1 success at Fairyhouse, Honeysuckle has won both her starts this season in impressive fashion. Her latest victory in the Hatton’s Grace confirmed in no uncertain terms, that we have another potential superstar on our hands. An RPR figure of 160 is very hard to come by as a mare and Quevega hit that height only once, with a figure of 162 her very best.

Whether you lean hard on those type of statistics or not, it’s impossible to deny that Honeysuckle could make a huge impact against the boys in a championship contest.

She’s Versatile

This isn’t the case of a mare who can show her best over one track and ground combination. Although her best form has come over 2m 4f, she doesn’t lack speed, as proven by the way she travelled in the Hatton’s Grace. She was always going strongly and took up the running two from home comfortably, driven clear when ridden thereafter. Given the way she asserted in dominant fashion, she clearly isn’t short on stamina either.

Two miles at Cheltenham should suit her down to the ground and on the same token, you wouldn’t suggest she’ll have a huge problem going the other way either.

We Don’t Need Another Apple’s Jade Or Quevega

Both Apple’s Jade and Quevega were star mares, and I’m not taking away from that, but we certainly don’t need another one of them. We were never able to find out just how good Quevega really was, as she never faced the boys at Cheltenham and never went for the loftier targets.

Much of the same can be levied at Apple’s Jade, and although she took on the boys on certain occasions, we were robbed of some fantastic battles after she was ushered away from the big Festival targets on two occasions in the favour of the “easy way out”, the Mares’ Hurdle, a notoriously weak race in terms of class.

We need stars who have faced the best, and Honeysuckle deserves better than just being known as just another Mares’ Hurdle bully.

We Need Another Annie Power

No matter how much of a cliche this is, the sky is the limit for Honeysuckle and every racing fan wants to see her against the best. Her Hatton’s Grace rout has proven she wouldn’t be out of place in a Champion Hurdle and why not go that route? That division has been lacking depth for a number of years now and she could write a legacy by being one of the few mares ever to win the contest.

Annie Power proved that there is no need to be scared of the boys as a top mare, guiding them the way home on multiple occasions, including that famous Champion Hurdle success.

No one knows that horse better than Henry De Bromhead, and that’s not disputable, but please Henry, give Honeysuckle the platform to show us just how special she is!