Timeform preview of a top-class card at Fairyhouse on Sunday

Honeysuckle bids for historic hat-trick

Fairyhouse plays host to a cracking card on Sunday featuring no fewer than three Grade One races, headlined by the Hatton’s Grace Hurdle in which HONEYSUCKLE is set to make her eagerly anticipated return to action.

Rewind the clock to last season and Honeysuckle won all four starts to maintain her perfect record under Rules, as well as cementing her status as the best hurdler around.

Honeysuckle kicked off with victory in this race before following up in the Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown, winning both races for the second year in a row. She then ran out an impressive winner of the biggest prize of them all over timber, the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.

A couple of Honeysuckle’s chief market rivals weren’t at their best at Cheltenham, but she still showed top-class form to beat Sharjah by six and a half lengths, with the 2020 winner Epatante another three lengths back in third.

That trio went on to fill the same three positions in the Punchestown Champion Hurdle and, though Sharjah more than halved the deficit, there was still no doubting Honeysuckle’s overwhelming superiority.

A real credit to her connections, Honeysuckle is now a nine-time Grade One winner and it goes without saying that she is very much the horse to beat as she attempts to take her tally into double figures on Sunday. For context, she would still be top on Timeform ratings even if she didn’t receive the 7 lb sex allowance.

Incidentally, it would be a historic achievement as well should Honeysuckle be successful, emulating Limestone Lad (1999, 2001 and 2002), Solerina (2003, 2004 and 2005) and Apple’s Jade (2016, 2017 and 2018) as a three-time winner of the Hatton’s Grace.

Saldier leads supporting cast

Willie Mullins chose not to declare Klassical Dream for the Hatton's Grace, but he is still set to saddle one of the main dangers to Honeysuckle in the shape of Saldier, who showed high-class form when defying top weight to win the Galway Hurdle in July.

A dual Grade One winner earlier in his career, Saldier hasn’t been the easiest horse to train over the last couple of seasons, but he beat a mix of unexposed sorts and seasoned handicappers at Galway in the style of one still capable of mixing it at the top level.

Saldier demonstrated his wellbeing when following up in a Grade Three at Tipperary last time, beating Darasso by three lengths in ready fashion, and another bold bid is expected.

Of the rest, Gordon Elliott looks to hold a strong hand with Abacadabras and Sire du Berlais.

An early faller in last season’s Champion Hurdle, Abacadabras bounced back on his next start with a comfortable success in the Aintree Hurdle, only winning by a length and a quarter but looking value for extra as he idled in front after making his effort earlier than ideal.

That was his second Grade One victory of the 2020/21 campaign – he also won the Morgiana Hurdle at Punchestown – and he had valid excuses when last seen finishing only fourth in the Punchestown Champion Hurdle (possibly found the race coming too soon).

In three starts last season, Sire du Berlais won the Lismullen Hurdle at Navan before going on to hit the frame behind Flooring Porter in the Christmas Hurdle at Leopardstown (beaten seven lengths into third) and the Stayers’ Hurdle at Cheltenham (beaten over three lengths into second).

Sire du Berlais shaped as if needing the run when reappearing in the latest renewal of the Lismullen, ultimately passing the post six lengths behind Darasso (who received 5 lb) in second, but the balance of his form suggests he is better over three miles anyway.

Red-hot renewal of the Royal Bond

Elliott also fields a couple of interesting contenders in the Royal Bond Novice Hurdle, namely Mighty Potter and Three Stripe Life.

Mighty Potter is unbeaten in two starts and looked a very bright prospect when making a successful hurdling debut at Down Royal last month, ultimately winning by 29 lengths after being left clear two out. He is sure to progress and it’s potentially significant that Elliott’s last two winners of that race, Envoi Allen and Ballyadam, went on to follow up in this Grade One.

Three Stripe Life showed useful form in bumpers and there was plenty to like about his hurdling debut over this course and distance recently, overcoming residual greenness to win by six lengths with plenty in hand. He too is open to more improvement and this looks the obvious next step.

The hat-trick-seeking My Mate Mozzie is another with leading claims for Gavin Cromwell. He made it two from two over hurdles with an impressive 10-length victory in a Grade Three at Navan last time, already having things under control when his main challenger departed late on.

My Mate Mozzie must be considered an exciting prospect, but preference here is for one of two mares in the line-up in the shape of IMPERVIOUS, who will be trying to extend her winning sequence over hurdles to four.

Impervious achieved her latest victory in a Grade Three against her own sex at Down Royal, impressing with her strength at the finish as she asserted on the run-in to win by five lengths in good style.

That was a useful effort and Impervious receives a 7 lb sex allowance which identifies her as the one to beat here according to Timeform’s weight-adjusted ratings. When you factor in her scope for more improvement, then Impervious has every chance of providing trainer Colm Murphy with a first Grade One triumph since Big Zeb won the Paddy Power Dial-A-Bet Chase in December 2011.

Cape Gentleman can go well in Drinmore

The other Grade One on the card is the Drinmore Novice Chase, a race which has been won by the likes of Don Cossack (2013), Delta Work (2018) and Envoi Allen (2020) just in the last decade.

In truth, this doesn’t look the strongest renewal on paper, though six of the 10 runners have a small ‘p’ attached to their Timeform rating to denote that they are likely to prove capable of better than they have shown so far.

One of them is Lifetime Ambition, who looked a natural when making a successful debut over fences at Down Royal last month, asserting from two out to beat Beacon Edge by nearly three lengths. Beacon Edge, who was a high-class hurdler at his best, is in opposition again here, but there is no obvious reason why he should reverse the placings.

This race also features a rematch between Gabynako and Fury Road, who finished first and second, respectively, in a maiden at this course three weeks ago. Gabynako has already bettered the form he showed as a hurdler and he is likely to have the measure of Fury Road again over this trip, the latter probably needing more emphasis on stamina to be seen to best effect.

However, all of them will need to improve to match the level of CAPE GENTLEMAN, who has already shown smart form in only three starts over fences, winning the first two before finding the task of conceding 18 lb to the exciting Riviere d'Etel beyond him in a Grade Two at Punchestown last time.

Cape Gentleman probably wasn’t quite at his best at Punchestown and the return to two and a half miles here is likely to be in his favour. After all, he ran out an impressive winner of a Grade Three at Cork the last time he tackled this trip, drawing clear from three out to beat the subsequent Troytown winner Run Wild Fred by 14 lengths in totally dominant fashion.

It’s that form which puts Cape Gentleman top of the pecking order here according to Timeform’s weight-adjusted ratings. It would be folly to rule out further progress now back over a more suitable trip and he should mount a bold bid to resume winning ways.

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