#Irish Champion Hurdle

From Hurricane Fly's fourth consecutive Irish Champion Hurdle victory to The New One brushing aside the opposition in Cheltenham's International Hurdle, it has been an exciting year of racing. As 2014 nears its conclusion racing correspondent Marcus Townend reviews the past 12 months of racing, and picks his best race of each month. JANUARY Paul…

Tommy Lyons ranks the country's greatest horsemen from the past 50 years. A star from the outset, Walsh served notice of what was to come by winning the Champion Bumper at Cheltenham aboard Alexander Banquet, and winning the Aintree Grand National at the first attempt. He showed his outstanding natural ability and adaptability by being able to ride…

Honeysuckle and Rachael Blackmore will aim to bounce back from her first defeat at Fairyhouse to win a fourth consecutive Irish Champion Hurdle This year's Dublin Racing Festival looks set to play host to a star-studded line-up after early entries for the two-day Irish calendar highlight at Leopardstown were revealed on Thursday. Eight Grade 1s…

Kilmaley native, Richard O'Brien, came in for lavish praise following the success of Paul Nolan's well-fancied newcomer, Cut The Rope (5/1), in the concluding four-year-old bumper at Naas on Sunday. O'Brien is a very successful trainer based in Ballingarry, County Limerick and it was on his advice that the Nolan camp purchased Cut The Rope, before…

The weekend's action at Leopardstown provided further pointers towards the Cheltenham Festival with plenty of movers in the betting markets ahead of the four-day extravaganza at Prestbury Park in March. Who are the big movers following the sixth renewal of the Dublin Racing Festival? We've taken a look at their impact on the big Grade Ones…

State Man continued his march towards a likely clash with Constitution Hill at the Cheltenham Festival in March with a comprehensive victory in the Matheson Hurdle at Leopardstown. Nicky Henderson's Constitution Hill is long odds-on to lift the Champion Hurdle crown in March following his latest demolition job in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton on…

Nicky Henderson's Constitution Hill is long odds-on to lift the Champion Hurdle crown in March following his latest demolition job in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton on Boxing Day. And while connections of the unbeaten five-year-old are unlikely to be quaking in their boots, State Man gave further evidence he may well prove his biggest threat with…

Tighthead props don't usually make for good jockeys. Henry de Bromhead was no exception. "I rode, I did hunting and pony club stuff, but I was probably poor-to-moderate as a rider," he says. Training horses is a different matter, however. Last March he secured his place in the Cheltenham pantheon by taking an unprecedented triple crown of Champion…

Full results from day two of the Dublin Racing Festival at Leopardstown. Honeysuckle, Galopin Des Champs and Sir Gerhard were among the favourites to win on Sunday's card Five horses, including winner Lily Du Berlais (green), race for the winning post at Leopardstown Several bookmakers were saved from a seven-figure payout as a 40-1 outsider took…

Bravemansgame provided Paul Nicholls with a record 13th victory in the Ladbrokes King George VI Chase on St Stephen's Day. Bravemansgame's stablemate Frodon, the King George hero of 2020, gave his usual bold sight in front for much of the three-mile journey, but began to give way turning for home and at the top of the home straight it became clear…

One-time Derby favourite High Definition made a successful start to his jumping career in the opening race of the Christmas Festival at Leopardstown. The Galileo colt looked every inch a Classic contender in the making after charging home to win the Beresford Stakes as a two-year-old, but had failed to get his head in front in 12 subsequent…

Saint Roi and Lossiemouth were the highlights of a sparkling Willie Mullins treble at Leopardstown on Monday. The former came from last to first to open his account over fences in the Brand New Racing Post App Novice Chase at Leopardstown. Fourth in the Irish Champion Hurdle, the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham and the Punchestown Champion Hurdle…

Chris Hill brings us his round-up of the news from the bloodstock scene following a good weekend for Willie Mullins. With the Cheltenham Festival just over six weeks away, Willie Mullins' domination of the 2015-16 British and Irish jumps season showed no sign of relenting last week with the eight-time Irish champion trainer saddling all three…

Tighthead props don't usually make for good jockeys. Henry De Bromhead was no exception. "I rode, I did hunting and pony club stuff, but I was probably poor-to-moderate as a rider," he says. Training horses is a different matter, however. Last March he secured his place in the Cheltenham pantheon by taking an unprecedented triple crown of Champion…

JP McManus nods at the white boards at the other end of the office. It's late September in Martinstown and the rain is coming down in great grey sheets outside. "Our horses in training," he says, gesturing at the names of hundreds of thoroughbreds and their respective trainers. When asked the number he replies, "Marian Finucane once asked me how…

Horse racing fans are in dreamland this weekend as the Dublin Racing Festival takes centre stage at Leopardstown. The cream of Irish national hunt racing will strut their stuff and pecking orders will be established with Cheltenham on the horizon. If you need an idea of how good the racing is today then you only to need to look at the second race…

HONEYSUCKLE has been crowned Horse of the Year at a prestigious awards do - the day after losing for the first time in her amazing career. Kenny Alexander's wondermare could finish only third when bidding for a record fourth Hatton's Grace Hurdle at Fairyhouse on Sunday. Gordon Elliott's shock 20-1 winner Teahupoo crashed the party - meaning…

Cheltenham Festival 2022 is just weeks away. Key runners will continue their preparations at Leopardstown, with contenders for the Gold Cup and Champion Chase on show Honeysuckle and Appreciate It could meet in the Chanelle Pharma Irish Champion Hurdle Top class horses are put through their paces at this weekend's Dublin Racing Festival at…

Honeysuckle is as short as 1-2 to retain her Champion Hurdle crown at Cheltenham next month after making it 14 runs unbeaten in the Chanelle Pharma Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown. A third consecutive win in the feature race on day two of the Dublin Racing Festival looked a formality with Rachael Blackmore's mount sent off at odds of 1-5 and…

Constitution Hill: big step up on his first run outside novice company Constitution Hill's stunning win in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle had many calling him the best-ever two-mile hurdler and propelled him into the ranks of the greatest based on Racing Post Ratings, which started in 1988. Here is the kind of company he's keeping…

Top tipster Simon Rowlands has four bets online for the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival on Tuesday, including an each-way selection in the Champion Hurdle. The question of what is the ideal preparation for the Cheltenham Festival is usually confined to the horses, but I find myself wondering whether being battle-hardened or fresh as a daisy…

The dramatic late falls of Annie Power, in 2015, and Benie Des Dieux, in 2019, reputedly saved bookmakers many millions as both were the last leg of numerous accumulators featuring short-priced runners for punters. This year's meeting once again sees a number of horses chalked up at cramped odds, but will they be bankers or blowouts? Sporting Life…

The dual Champion Hurdle winner has contested the same races over the last two seasons, starting off by winning the Hatton's Grace at Fairyhouse, then landing the Irish Champion Hurdle en route to Cheltenham and rounding off at the Punchestown Festival. Trainer Henry de Bromhead does not plan to deviate from her traditional starting point this…

A regular feature at the end of any sporting year is the presentation of awards in recognition of success throughout the season. Last week saw Irish jumps jockey Rachael Blackmore collect four prestigious awards in the space of four days. Horse Racing I reland Irish Racing Hero 2021, Irish Times Sportswoman of the Year 2021, RTÉ Sportsperson of the…

Gericault Roque has the potential to be a contender in the major staying handicap chases and is a potential wildcard Spotting the improvers that few others will have considered is what will make the difference in terms of winning the Tote Ten To Follow. Do not go overboard, though: your list needs to be built on a solid base and that means giving…

The Henry de Bromhead-trained Honeysuckle will be bidding for an unprecedented fourth win in the Grade One showpiece on December 4, which would see her go one better than three-time winners Limestone Lad, Solerina and Apple's Jade. Rachael Blackmore's mount was last seen winning at Punchestown in April, after adding a second Champion Hurdle at…

Reigning champion Honeysuckle should justify long odds-on favouritism and extended her impressive, unbeaten record in the Chanelle Pharma Irish Champion Hurdle in Leopardstown today. The remarkable mare boasts an untarnished record in thirteen races, including nine at Grade 1 level, and is set to better Bula's record if she adds a third'Irish…

Unbeaten Honeysuckle is on course for an Irish Champion Hurdle hat-trick bid at the Dublin Racing Festival next month, connections have confirmed. The brilliant mare won last year's renewal by 10 lengths before going on to justify favouritism in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham. She made it 13 wins from 13 starts when seeing off Ronald Pump in the…

There are many strategies for playing Ten to Follow but having a couple of horses who go against the status quo could prove the difference between standing out from the pack or finishing in boring mid-table. You can enter the Tote Ten To Follow here Let's kick off with the obvious though, and where better to start than last season's brilliant…

The stars were out in force at Leopardstown over the weekend for yet another thrilling edition of the Dublin Racing Festival. As ever, it was a weekend of major winners and losers but not every horse that passed the winning post in front enhanced their claims of glory at next month's Cheltenham Festival. Willie Mullins was the headline act, winning…

Just five runners went to post for the two-and-a-quarter-mile contest but it did not lack intrigue, with Darver Star - runner-up to Honeysuckle in the 2020 Irish Champion Hurdle and third in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham the following month - opposed by three-time Grade One winner Abacadabras. The Gordon Elliott-trained Abacadabras was the 4-6…

THE Honey Monster was back with a bang at Fairyhouse on Sunday. Now a perfect 13 from 13 - reigning champion hurdler Honeysuckle returned in breathtaking form as she won back-to-backHatton's Grace Hurdles under Rachael Blackmore. The seven-year-old mare ran a high-class field into the ground and was able to coast home after the last to win…

The Nicky Henderson-trained five-year-old was hugely impressive in winning each of his three starts last season, completing his hat-trick with a jaw-dropping 22-length victory in the Supreme Novices' Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in March. National Hunt racing enthusiasts are already relishing a potential clash between Constitution Hill and the…

channel to stay up to date on breaking news coverage The Cheltenham Festival is billed as best four days of National Hunt (jumps) racing on the planet and the'good news' for horse racing betting fans is that we are now only weeks away. As aways over the four days, which get going on Tuesday 15 March, there will be plenty of Cheltenham Festival…

Day One Betting: The Cheltenham Festival with William Hill The long wait is over and the Cheltenham Festival is finally here! Day one is full of quality and features the Champion Hurdle. The best novice hurdlers go to post for the opening race, the Grade 1 Supreme Novices' Hurdle, and the runners are sure to be greeted by an almighty roar from the…

Just over a week remains before the greatest show on turf gets underway and the anticipation from both sides of the Irish Sea is palpable. The Irish once again have a plethora of talent heading over and after the 23-5 drubbing of the English in the Prestbury Cup, they'll be supremely confident of taking the trophy back to Ireland. As with any other…

Six years ago this month one of the most successful partnerships in Irish jumps racing was abruptly ended when owners Gigginstown House Stud and Willie Mullins parted company after the trainer increased his training fees from the autumn of 2016. 'I put my fees up for the first time in ten years and Gigginstown chose not pay them' Mullins said at…

A 10-length winner at Leopardstown's Dublin Racing Festival last year, having rather scrambled home from Darver Star in 2020, Henry De Bromhead's superstar became the first horse to complete a hat-trick of wins in the Grade One February feature since Hurricane Fly. Honeysuckle was far superior to her four Sunday rivals on all known form and had…