The fourth and final Grade 1 race on an action-packed opening day sees the best hurdling mares take centre stage, and few will forget Honeysuckle’s emotional win in her farewell race 12 months ago.
Another odds-on favourite sees the highly-rated LOSSIEMOUTH expected to take the Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle comfortably for the Willie Mullins-Paul Townend pairing after swerving her initial entry to take on State Man in the Champion Hurdle.
Beaten by just one of her 62 rivals across seven outings, she landed the Triumph Hurdle from the re-opposing Gala Marceau at last year’s Festival, and returned to action in January by seeing off last year’s winner of this, Love Envoi, who lines up to defend her crown here.
Lossiemouth is expected to cope with the step up in trip and should land the odds here. Anyone who fancies doubling her up with State Man in the Champion Hurdle will just about double their investment, but for the more adventurous among us, there might be more appealing each-way options elsewhere.
MARIE’S ROCK won this as an 18/1 shot in 2022 but was disappointing a year ago, and would need a significant uptick in form to finish in front of all of these again.
One of Mullins’ other runners, ECHOES IN RAIN, is well worth a closer look after being somewhat unfortunately to find herself in State Man’s company in her three outings this term (2nd, 3rd, 3rd behind him), so she should find more joy against her own sex here, having been pulled away from another clash with the Champion Hurdle favourite.
Of similar interest are Henry de Bromhead’s two runners, TELLMESOMETHINGGIRL and LANTRY LADY, with Rachael Blackmore having ridden both throughout their campaigns, and plumping for the former as her best option here.
That has left Jack Kennedy with the Lantry Lady, who has received plenty of support from within the Tipstrr camp and could well outrun her hefty price here.
She romped home with 14 lengths to spare from her 17 rivals on her debut last March, and returned from an 11-month break as if she’d never been away from the track, easing almost 10 lengths clear again in a first-time tongue tie (retained here) at the same venue 24 days ago.
Both of those runs were in testing heavy ground so she should take this step-up in trip in her stride, and unexposed as she is, Lantry Lady more than likely has more to offer and could well put herself in the mix here.
