Rachael Blackmore’s remarkable ascent to the very top of National Hunt racing has come via a variety of horses in the recent weeks but before most, there was Honeysuckle.

Blackmore rode her second Grade 1 win on the mare (her first in Ireland) in 2019 and since then the pair haven’t looked back, maintaining a perfect record of 11 wins from 11 runs, peaking with an electric performance in the Champion Hurdle in Cheltenham in March.

On Friday at Punchestown, they take on the Paddy Power Champion Hurdle, where they will likely renew rivalry with Aintree Grade 1 scorer Abacadabras. The sponsors, never ones to pass up a marketing opportunity, have also put up a £100,000 bonus for any British-trained winner of the race – an incentive which has lured over last year’s Champion Hurdler Epatante and Goshen.

However, Honeysuckle is still likely to be a short-priced favourite on the day and her trainer Henry de Bromhead was upbeat about her chances on a Zoom call last week, saying: “She seems really good, she came out of Cheltenham great and we’re really excited about seeing her out again. This will be the first time we’ve run her after running at Cheltenham. Punchestown is where we bought her so it would be great to go back there and win.”

Guineas

On what is one of the busiest weeks on the racing calendar, both the 2000 Guineas and 1000 Guineas take place this weekend.

Aidan O’Brien will be aiming to win the former race for the fifth time in seven years and holds a strong hand through colts Wembley, St Mark’s Basilica and Battleground, while son Joseph also has a leading contender in Thunder Moon.

Aidan will be going for five wins in six renewals of the fillies’ classic and has the favourite in Santa Barbara, who only has a maiden win to her name but who has plunged in the betting in recent months.