Golden duo Honeysuckle and Racheal Blackmore have once again triumphed at Cheltenham, after defending their Champion Hurdle crown in day one's feature race.
Heading into the race unbeaten the Irish raider was a heavily backed favourite, but did face stiff competition on form from Willie Mullins' Appreciate It. Despite the pressures though, both jockey and horse held their nerve in impressive fashion to secure a second successive victory in this race.
After being held behind the leaders, Blackmore let her superstar partner go over the second last, and the pair burst away in the distance leaving the rest of the field in their wake. Fans cheered in delight as the 8-11 favourite galloped on strongly up the hill, crossing the line three-and-a-half lengths ahead of Epatante (16-1), with Zanahiyr (28-1) in third.
