a glorious cheltenham.

​Barry Geraghty tells a story of riding for Henry de Bromhead where he was given instructions on how to ride the horse he was waiting to be legged-up on. The instructions were lengthy and precise. De Bromhead, apparently was renowned for how he wanted a horse ridden. As he made his way out of the parade ring, de Bromhead came running over with one last instruction. Geraghty, wanting to make light of what to him was an unnecessary annoyance, made a charade of taking a notebook from a top pocket, and licking the end of his pretend pencil, Geraghty asked de Bromhead to repeat the riding instructions so he could study them down at the start. De Bromhead laughed and said no more.
Cheltenham 2022 and when asked how Honeysuckle would be ridden, de Bromhead replied. ‘I’ve done my job. The riding is Rachael’s gig’. A demonstration on how much he trusts Blackmore to get the job done.
Apparently, the change in tactics this year in the Gold Cup was 100% down to Blackmore, with de Bromhead answering ‘whatever’ when told how she intended to ride the race. And to be sure, it was one of the best rides of the meeting. Yes, Danny Mullins was superb on Flooring Porter and Derek Fox pulled a rabbit out of a hat to win on Corach Rambler but Blackmore had the confidence and iron-will to sit and wait while her main rival set off for a winning post that was forever coming towards her. It was a ride Ruby Walsh would have been proud to have executed and proof that her success, nearing domination over the past couple of seasons has little to do with luck and everything to do prowess in the saddle.
I thought Honeysuckle was a little less impressive than last year, which might have something to with the in and out form of the de Bromhead stable. But 15 out of 15 is some record, especially for a mare. I hope this speculative novelty of Constitution Hill taking her on at Punchestown is scuttled by Nicky Henderson. It’s not in Henderson’s nature to pitch a novice in against seniors and I hope he is not persuaded otherwise. Of course, I would love to see the two in the same race but that race should be next season’s Champion Hurdle, which if the usual programme is adopted for Honeysuckle will be an attempt to equal Altior’s unbeaten run of 19, with Constitution Hill defending the Seven Barrow’s legend’s record.
Constitution Hill was breath-taking and for a novice to break the course record and stop the clock nearly six-seconds faster than Honeysuckle achieved in the Champion Hurdle was remarkable. Of course, in racing 2 and 2 does not always make 4. When they meet the pace might be slower and de Bromhead is convinced Honeysuckle would prefer a faster run race.
Let’s hope when the two do meet it will not be the damp squib the 2-Mile Champion Chase proved. I don’t know about you but I get pretty fed-up with hearing the ground being the excuse for a poor run from a Seven Barrows horse. Shishkin has won on heavy in the past and though they may have been going into the mud a fair way, it was still raining which meant the ground was loose and in no way holding. I hope Henderson has a rethink and either tries Shishkin over further at Aintree or goes to Punchestown to take on Energumene in hope of putting the record straight.
Two of my highlights from the Festival were the victories of Coole Cody, as honest a horse ever to look through a bridle and a testament to the training skills of Evan Williams, and the win in the Kim Muir of Chambard by Lucy Turner for the in-form Venetia Williams.
And then there was the 3-mile novice chase which lo and behold gave the home nation not one but two potential Gold Cup horses for next season. L’Homme Presse jumped immaculately, given a flawless ride by the coming-of-age Charley Deutsch, and won giving the sound impression that 3-miles plus should be easily in his compass. But would he have won if Ahoy Senor had the same jumping ability as the winner? Ahoy Senor would appreciate the Gold Cup distance and I was impressed by the manner of his fightback up the Cheltenham Hill.
What we should take out of this Cheltenham, given the rout of last year’s event, is this: the country of Mullins 10; the country of Great Britain 10; the country of Ireland 8. Yes, we beat the Irish this year.