I’d concur with all that to be honest.
Tornado Flyer is the bet so
He makes a good case for him.
He’s right about the price kinda being gone on Galvin but a 4/1 Gold Cup winner pays more that a 14/1 GC loser
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The analysis of the king George was funny. The way people have been talking about tornado is that he was dropped out 30 lengths last and picked up the pieces At the end. For the entire final circuit he was right in touch and he was pulling double rounding the home turn. I think he’s better right handed personally.
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I still think burning victory is worth keeping an eye on for the stayers. In the leopardstown race there’s 3 jumps in the final 5 furlongs where as in Cheltenham there’s only 2 jumps in the final 7 furlongs.
This will really play to her strengths.
I like Protektorat at the odds myself. There isnt a whole lot in the market with eway value. Did Chantry House just not get the distance, the run? Hard to know
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The absolute silence as they pass the winning line 
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Jnr looks like the real deal
Not that much of a leap of faith. He has won twice at the festival coming off the back of two defeats in a row. Including a fall last season at Xmas and a flop at DRF
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Nobody has mentioned the elephant in the room with Protektorat… The pilot
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It’s a pity the bookies aren’t pricing up the without honeysuckle market yet. Be an interesting one.
I see William hill have the 2023 champion hurdle and gold cup Priced up.
Bha give constitutional hill a figure of 148.
Just 9 weeks now
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What did they give Metier after Tolworth last year?
148
That did not turn out too accurate. Nicky’s pair are visually impressive but are running against trees. Sir Gerhard is still the one for me
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Pricewise sticks up Quilixious for the champion hurdle.
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Id like to see article if you can post
Champion Hurdle
1pt each-way at 25-1 with bet365 or Betfred (NRNB)
20/1
There can be little doubt the amazing Honeysuckle is going to be almost impossible to beat in the Unibet Champion Hurdle if she turns up in the same form as she was last season. In fact she could probably run 7lb below that level and still win given the dearth of credible candidates.
The evidence of her comeback win in the Hatton’s Grace suggested she was better than ever and if she wins the Irish Champion at the Dublin Racing Festival, it’s possible Honeysuckle could be the shortest-priced favourite in the race’s long history.
However, it is hard to suggest backing her now at odds-on given how much water there is to flow under the bridge and the obvious each-way alternative would be last year’s runner-up Sharjah.
Sharjah is a pretty amazing horse himself having won six Grade 1s and finished runner-up in two Champion Hurdles. He is likely to finish in the frame again but we know he’s not as good as Honeysuckle and the bookmakers aren’t giving much away with him.
Former winner Epatante has bounced back with two Grade 1 wins this season and she is certainly not without a chance of hitting the frame again, but it would be hard to argue she’s as good as she once was based on what she’s shown this season.
Consequently I think the one unexplored angle into the Champion Hurdle is with last season’s juvenile hurdlers.
The trends followers don’t like five-year-olds in the Champion but that was proved to be a bogus line of thinking when Espoir D’Allen hacked up in 2019 and the evidence suggests last year’s Triumph Hurdle was a seriously good race.
Already this season, the runner-up Adagio has gone close to winning the Greatwood Handicap Hurdle off top weight, while the fourth home Zanahiyr was only beaten a neck by Sharjah in the Grade 1 Matheson Hurdle recently.
The third Haut En Couleurs is a fancy for the Arkle after impressing on his chase debut, while the fifth Tritonic won a big handicap at Ascot recently too.
Clearly the Triumph was a red-hot contest and for that reason I think the best value left in the Champion is with the winner Quilixios, who beat all of those mentioned easily at the festival last March.
Things haven’t gone smoothly for Quilixios since the Triumph but he shaped as though he was coming back to the boil in a good race at Limerick last time, when quickening up in good style to go clear at the last only to over-jump and lose all momentum.
That allowed the high-class Teahupoo to get back past him but he was giving the winner weight and anyone who saw the race would struggle to suggest that the tables wouldn’t be turned next time.
That is still a long way off what will be required to even give Honeysuckle a race in March but it did suggest Quilixios retains all of his ability and connections have already suggested he is being aimed at the race.
Last year Henry de Bromhead saddled Aspire Tower to be fourth in the Champion as a five-year-old. There can be little doubt Quilixios was a better juvenile than him and we know he relishes the Cheltenham hill too.
The added bonus for punters is that bet365 and Betfred are non-runner no bet on this race, so if Quilixios blows out in his trial race and doesn’t run, anyone backing him at 25-1 will get their money back.
The other fascinating contender is the runaway Supreme winner Appreciate It. However, he clearly hasn’t had a smooth run of things this season and it would be safer to see him run first before backing him at the current odds.
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