Honeysuckle claimed a third successive victory in the Chanelle Pharma Irish Champion Hurdle as she dominated her rivals at Leopardstown.
Trained by Henry de Bromhead and ridden by Rachael Blackmore, the mare joined an elite club as just the third horse to win a third renewal of the Grade One showpiece, joining four-times victor Istabraq and five-times hero Hurricane Fly.
Sent off the 1-5 favourite, it was was the eight-year-old’s 14th consecutive career win as she cantered over the opposition on the way to a six-and-a-half-length verdict over Zanahiyr.
Ridden with supreme confidence by Blackmore, Honeysuckle settled in third as outsider Heaven Help Us made the early pace.
She was clearly travelling by far the best throughout, with main rival Zanahiyr under pressure as Honeysuckle swooped to conquer turning for home.
Blackmore just had to keep her up to her work on the run to the last and while she was not foot-perfect at the final flight, Honeysuckle safely negotiated the hurdle and galloped home to an ecstatic welcome from the stands.
De Bromhead said: “Brilliant, it’s absolutely brilliant. They were great again, the pair of them. I’m delighted.
“She looked great, jumped well I thought throughout – maybe went a little bit left at one of them – but winged the second-last and took off again.
“It felt a long straight after the last, but she was brilliant and we’re delighted.
“It was great, aren’t we lucky to have her?
“Just the atmosphere here today has been amazing.”
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