cheltenham never disappoints, even when all of your selections get trashed!

​Sure, look, Henry was right. And for a reason less obvious than his horse winning yet again at Cheltenham. Because Henry knows his horses and trade better than most, because he paid no heed to the ignorant disparagement and vituperation of numbskulls like me and Matt Chapman, he man-managed to shine a spotlight to the world on the connection and love racing people have for the horses that are the cynosure, magnet, focal point or fulcrum of lives which would be lessened without their equine majesty and willingness to run, jump and strain every sinew for us, mere mortals, for the meagre reward of three square meals a day.
Yes, I will continue to berate Cheltenham for allowing a race on the undercard to out-shine one of National Hunt’s classic races, and I will continue to desire to have the conditions of the Mares Hurdle altered so that either mares of the calibre of Honeysuckle and Epatante, the winners of the three previous Champion Hurdles, remember, either cannot be entered in the race or if they are allowed, they must carry a 7 or 10Ib penalty. Also, why isn’t there a genuine 2-Mile Champion Hurdle for mares at either the Dublin Racing Festival or Cheltenham’s Trial Day or Newbury around the same time of year? Of course, we might never see a mare the likes of Honeysuckle for another twenty-years and a mares Champion Hurdle might on many occasions turn out to be a damp squib but if the top mares are allowed the easier option of a lesser race at the Cheltenham Festival over the next few years, Constitution Hill will have no credible opposition for as long as he continues as a hurdler.
For what its worth, on her performance yesterday, it is perfectly possible that Honeysuckle would have finished in front of State Man if she had run in the Champion Hurdle, winning for her connections an extra £20,000. But as Henry knew full well, yesterday was not about prize-money. It was about ‘Honey’ retiring in the blaze of glory she had earned for herself over the years of her endeavours. The blaze of glory, thankfully, she received. And I do not think for one moment Honeysuckle was in decline this season. Racehorses, as the form-book makes clear, are not machines; occasionally the greats can be beaten, occasionally, for reasons never apparent to a layman or vet, they can under-perform and yet still salvage victory when defeat seemed more likely, as Honeysuckle achieved yesterday.
Yesterday, Love Envoi ran a magnificent race under an equally magnificent ride by Johnnie Burke. They should have won; they deserved to win - look how far behind the likes of Epatante and Marie’s Rock finished – yet they were outgunned up that telling hill by a mare who would run through walls for the jockey on her back.
Let us all pray that the powers beyond human control allow Honeysuckle a long life, easy births of her offspring and that her sons and daughters go on to reflect even more glory on her.
Of course, the other highlight of the day, other than the Irish highlight of the Green Country winning the day 5-2, the reverse of what I suggested, was Constitution Hill doing what we all suspect he will be doing at Cheltenham for the next, pray to the powers beyond human control, three, four, five years. He was totally magnificent, never at any point could you fool yourself, even State Man supporters, into believing an upset might occur. He is, in the manner of his enthusiasm, the hurdling equivalent of Frodon, in that he jumps for fun, with an accuracy of a gold-medal winning Olympic archer.
He is magnificent. Yet, let’s not get carried away. The 2023 Champion Hurdle was far from vintage. He beat State Man who beat the rest as easily as Constitution Hill beat him. Appearances suggest he can be one of the great National Hunt horses, yet a horse as good as him will always make lesser beings appear second-rate.
In my opinion, though, to be a great horse, a horse must beat either horses that have won the major hurdle prizes or that of a similar form-level. The 2-mile hurdling division is weak and has been for many decades. The previous great hurdler was Istabraq whose last Cheltenham success was in 2000, though he would have undoubtedly added the 2001 race if it were not for the Foot and Mouth outbreak. Though the same argument as I am now putting forward about Constitution Hill could equally be applied to Istabraq.
Go back to the days of Night Nurse, Monksfield, Sea Pigeon, etc, and for the years thereafter, and the calibre of hurdlers taking each other was of a magnitude that far excels the depth of the past twenty-years and more.
The hope must be that Marine Nationale keeps on improving and proves superior to, at least, State Man, then, perhaps, there might be a credible opponent to take on Constitution Hill next season.