Henry de Bromhead does not expect Honeysuckle to give up her crown lightly when she bids for fourth successive victory in the Chanelle Pharma Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown.
The nine-year-old will return to Foxrock on something of a recovery mission on Sunday week, having suffered her first defeat in 17 career starts at Fairyhouse last month.
Honeysuckle looked likely to secure her fourth Hatton’s Grace Hurdle after travelling strongly into the home straight, but her effort petered out between the final two flights and she was eventually beaten just under three lengths into third place behind Teahupoo and Klassical Dream.
