Equinties - weekend review

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It was a brilliant, brilliant weekend of action with some of the best racehorses on display and England smashing up Senegal to go through to the quarter finals.

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Let’s dive in.

Headline Roundup

The Queen is beaten

HONEYSUCKLE’s 16-race unbeaten streak came to an end at Fairyhouse yesterday as she finished third in the Grade 1 Hatton’s Grace Hurdle at odds of 4/11.

Henry de Bromhead’s eight-year-old travelled like her usual self around the bend, but she was unable to match KLASSICAL DREAM and the eventual winner TEAHUPOO at the last hurdle – Gordon Elliott’s five-year-old finished last on his previous two starts in Grade 1 company but bounced back in brilliant style yesterday.

Despite what Racing Twitter may want you to think, HONEYSUCKLE still put up a mighty performance to only finish two lengths off the winner – owner Kenny Alexander is open to all options about her future, though we would love to see her run again.

Fingers crossed we get to see The Queen of national hunt racing continue in her final season on the track, and if she does, just enjoy her.

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Mullins’ Gold Cup hope?

Grand National hero NOBLE YEATS earned quotes of 12/1 for the Cheltenham Gold Cup next year as the Emmet (not Willie) Mullins-trained seven-year-old won the Grade 2 Many Clouds Chase easily.

Running in the Robert Waley-Cohen colours, the same silks worn by LONG RUN for his 2011 Gold Cup victory, he showed an electric turn of foot before the final fence to storm into the lead before powering over the line under Sean Bowen.

The Grade 1 King George on Boxing Day could well be his next run, a race he is 6/1 for, but the options are still open, as Mullins said: "Everything's a possibility and we won't rule anything in or out today, and we'll get him home to see how he takes it.”

"He can be highly strung in the preliminaries, and afterwards as well, but during the race, he seems to know what's going on, switches off and does the business."

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EDWARD is a Stone better

Last season’s Arkle winner EDWARDSTONE put up a career-best effort on Saturday to win the Grade 1 Tingle Creek at Sandown as Nicky Henderson’s SHISHKIN underperformed to finish a distant third.

He jumped up alongside last year’s winner GREANETEEN at the second-last fence before stretching clear under his usual pilot Tom Cannon.

The eight-year-old is now as short as 5/2 to beat last season’s Queen Mother Champion Chase winner ENERGUMENE at Cheltenham in March after he ran to an RPR of 175 on Saturday.

Where next for SHISHKIN? Trainer Henderson suggested that he might step up in trip going forward, with the Gold Cup entering the equation.

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High-class novice chasers

The novice chasing division was in full flight over the weekend as we were treated to some extremely promising performances on both sides of the Irish Sea.

The first to strut his stuff was JONBON who comfortably won the Grade 1 Henry VIII Novices’ Chase by eight lengths.

The full brother to DOUVAN made all to see off BOOTHILL, UNEXPECTED PARTY, and HONNEUR D’AJONC with ease, bringing his record over fences to two from two.

Nicky Henderson was quick to mention that he could stay further in time, as he said after his Warwick win, but the Arkle is the main aim for him, a race he is as short as 6/4 for.

24 hours later, the Turners Novice Chase had a bit of a shake-up as MIGHTY POTTER is now the 5/1 favourite for the contest in March after his dominant display in the Grade 1 Drinmore.

The five-year-old by MARTALINE made a few errors throughout (he tried to take the third last with him) but he powered on and won by a comfortable four lengths to beat GAILLARD DU MESNIL and BANBRIDGE.

It looks like Gordon Elliott has a right one and BGP Capital had it right off.

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