Honeysuckle & Rachael Blackmore

[Elf On A Shelf]

Honeysuckle remains unbeaten having just won the Irish Champion Hurdle for the 2nd time! She is now short priced for the Cheltenham Champion Hurdle in March and deservedly so! Ridden sweetly from the word go, sent on before the turn for home she has run them off their feet in the final half mile. Just a jockey getting on with her job not making any issues of being female and wanting to be seen as just that - a jockey! If only they were all like that!

10 wins, 6 Grade 1's including a Cheltenham Festival win. Roll on March!

Kenny is also a really lovely guy and I am so pleased he has such an amazing horse! It will be interesting to see when he will pull the plug on her racing career for a broodmare career at his home stud in Ayrshire. It certainly won't be this season and I guess it will depend on what happens at Cheltenham.

 

[Peregrine Falcon]

Great win. Lovely to to her ridden so well at the last too.

Native River had a good win today as well.

 

[splashgirl45]

just watched the race at musselborough, was rooting for mighty thunder, a lovely win...but hope stay humble was ok, looked exhausted and didnt move when he fell....

 

[Clodagh]

I think Rachel Blackmore is truly one of the absolute best around. Isn’t she 2nd in the Irish championship?
Richard Johnson isn’t always a jockey I warm to but his rides today on Sporting John and then Native River showed how really good he is.
Now I need to know... why isn’t Aiden Coleman riding in the green and gold?
And did Robbie Power give up on the Tizzards, i see he is back in Ireland?

 

[Clodagh]

Im really enjoying seeing some Irish racing, usually it comes to Cheltenham and I wonder who they are talking about.
Dislike their whip rules though, ours are much better.

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

Sadly Stay Humble will not be returning to his stable ?

Dickie Johnson was superb on Sporting John. Letting him find his feet and his jumping, never panicking, never pushing him out of his comfort zone and that rewarded him with the horse having the confidence to jump bigger and bolder towards the end and to gallop on to win.

I think Blackmore is actually leading the Irish Jockey's Championship? Or she was a few days ago anyway!

I'm not sure with the Robbie Power situation - I don't know if it's because travelling over and back isn't easy at the moment and so will probably only be done for Cheltenham I expect.

 

[Clodagh]

Sadly Stay Humble will not be returning to his stable ?
.

That was sad, he didn't look as though he broke anything I hoped he was just tired out. I really dislike long distance staying chases in bottomless ground.

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

That was sad, he didn't look as though he broke anything I hoped he was just tired out. I really dislike long distance staying chases in bottomless ground.

So do I! I know we won the race but it's too much to ask of the horses in my opinion. That followed up by a 3m2f hunter chase full of older horses. To be fair Musselburgh rarely gets soft ground let alone heavy as it is very well draining sandy soil and is right next to the Forth River. We have just had no end of rain, sleet and snow for the best part of a month now. I can't see racing being on there again tomorrow. That ground was mangled by the end!

 

[McGrools]

That was sad, he didn't look as though he broke anything I hoped he was just tired out. I really dislike long distance staying chases in bottomless ground.

This 100% - the horses that finished amaze me that they have that kind of stamina

 

[Dante's Inferno]

Honeysuckle remains unbeaten having just won the Irish Champion Hurdle for the 2nd time! She is now short priced for the Cheltenham Champion Hurdle in March and deservedly so! Ridden sweetly from the word go, sent on before the turn for home she has run them off their feet in the final half mile. Just a jockey getting on with her job not making any issues of being female and wanting to be seen as just that - a jockey! If only they were all like that!

10 wins, 6 Grade 1's including a Cheltenham Festival win. Roll on March!

Kenny is also a really lovely guy and I am so pleased he has such an amazing horse! It will be interesting to see when he will pull the plug on her racing career for a broodmare career at his home stud in Ayrshire. It certainly won't be this season and I guess it will depend on what happens at Cheltenham.

An excellent revue of an outstanding jockey and horse - but is it really necessary to put the barb in regarding other jockeys. We are all in this game together.

 

[Dante's Inferno]

I think Rachel Blackmore is truly one of the absolute best around. Isn’t she 2nd in the Irish championship?
Richard Johnson isn’t always a jockey I warm to but his rides today on Sporting John and then Native River showed how really good he is.
Now I need to know... why isn’t Aiden Coleman riding in the green and gold?
And did Robbie Power give up on the Tizzards, i see he is back in Ireland?

As far as I know when Barry Geraghty retired, Mr McManus wasn't going to have a retained jockey in the UK. He does I think still retain Mark Walsh in Ireland.

 

[neddy man]

A nice 1st & 3rd today, well done.

 

[splashgirl45]

so sorry to hear that stay humble was a casualty.....such a sad end

 

[Andie02]

Im really enjoying seeing some Irish racing, usually it comes to Cheltenham and I wonder who they are talking about.
Dislike their whip rules though, ours are much better.

Clodagh if you are not aware, if you subscribe to 'Racing TV ' you can get to watch all of the Irish racing plus the UK racing that is covered by Racing TV, the remainder of the race meetings are covered by 'Sky Sports Racing' which depending on the TV package you have it is free. The racing from France and other countries is also available to watch on these channels. You can get the racecards up online 'At The Races' and the 'Racing Post '.
There has been some very good racing on from Leopardstown again today.

 

[Clodagh]

Clodagh if you are not aware, if you subscribe to 'Racing TV ' you can get to watch all of the Irish racing plus the UK racing that is covered by Racing TV, the remainder of the race meetings are covered by 'Sky Sports Racing' which depending on the TV package you have it is free. The racing from France and other countries is also available to watch on these channels. You can get the racecards up online 'At The Races' and the 'Racing Post '.
There has been some very good racing on from Leopardstown again today.

I used to subscribe to it but just too expensive now, I don’t watch any flat racing.

 

[Andie02]

I used to subscribe to it but just too expensive now, I don’t watch any flat racing.

Special Offers come up on fb on Racing TV usually before Cheltenham, but if like us you are on Virgin you cannot unfortunately take advantage of it. We don't follow the flat racing but like to watch the big meetings like Ascot.

 

[Orangehorse]

Looking at Honeysuckle, I thought what a great back end! The horse, not the jockey. She gave a lesson in jumping and galloping to the others.

 

[Gamebird]

So do I! I know we won the race but it's too much to ask of the horses in my opinion.

I don't know that it's too much of an ask per se, but I just think the pace is too high in these races, especially in the first couple of miles. Both my husband and I independently said they were were going like a 2m 6f, not a 4m+ race. The real solid stayers get pulled along too quick and out of their rhythm early doors, then don't have it in their legs at the end. It should really be a 3 mile plod, followed by a circuit putting the pressure on, not the other way round. I don't know whether the jockeys are riding to orders to make it, or where it's coming from, but you never used to see 5 or 6 horses at the front when they jump off all looking like they want to make it over a race of this distance. A proper 4 mile chaser should stay all day, in any ground, but these horses just don't get a look in these days. Dickie's ride on Sporting John was a masterclass.

ETA - Rachael is an absolute legend, a grafter in the extreme, and I thought Danny rode an amazing race on Kemboy.

 

[Clodagh]

Special Offers come up on fb on Racing TV usually before Cheltenham, but if like us you are on Virgin you cannot unfortunately take advantage of it. We don't follow the flat racing but like to watch the big meetings like Ascot.

Expense is always relative to the person paying the bill! Signing on for 12 months, even at £10 a month, for NH only when I work Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday is pointless, IMO.
I prefer the ITV footage anyway and tend to watch that over Sky or RUK when I had them all. Ilike the perception of horses as beautiful, talented creatures who enhance our lives rather than an object to put money on.

 

[Crazy_cat_lady]

I saw the news about Stay Humble, I'd hoped he was just winded as it didn't look a "nasty" fall onto his neck or anything

 

[Orangehorse]

I saw the news about Stay Humble, I'd hoped he was just winded as it didn't look a "nasty" fall onto his neck or anything

I think he was dead before he hit the floor. Happened at a hunter trial, and even someone riding their eventer over a few fences. Took off OK but just landed in a heap.

 

[Andie02]

Expense is always relative to the person paying the bill! Signing on for 12 months, even at £10 a month, for NH only when I work Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday is pointless, IMO.
I prefer the ITV footage anyway and tend to watch that over Sky or RUK when I had them all. Ilike the perception of horses as beautiful, talented creatures who enhance our lives rather than an object to put money on.

We don't bet on the racing either. We wouldn't get to see much at all just relying on ITV .

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

I think he was dead before he hit the floor. Happened at a hunter trial, and even someone riding their eventer over a few fences. Took off OK but just landed in a heap.

I'd say that is exactly what happened. Heart attack on take off hence why he crumple and didn't move again. Sad but he wouldn't have known a thing.

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

I don't know that it's too much of an ask per se, but I just think the pace is too high in these races, especially in the first couple of miles. Both my husband and I independently said they were were going like a 2m 6f, not a 4m+ race. The real solid stayers get pulled along too quick and out of their rhythm early doors, then don't have it in their legs at the end. It should really be a 3 mile plod, followed by a circuit putting the pressure on, not the other way round. I don't know whether the jockeys are riding to orders to make it, or where it's coming from, but you never used to see 5 or 6 horses at the front when they jump off all looking like they want to make it over a race of this distance. A proper 4 mile chaser should stay all day, in any ground, but these horses just don't get a look in these days. Dickie's ride on Sporting John was a masterclass.

ETA - Rachael is an absolute legend, a grafter in the extreme, and I thought Danny rode an amazing race on Kemboy.

Your right it is definitely a speed thing. They go hell for leather into the first at Aintree. Chepstow had to change the race distance to make the first fence a different one to stop the cavalry charge.