READERS of this column could sometimes do worse that back some of the horses who feature here. Some weeks back I wrote about Honeysuckle that “perhaps there could be another Grade 1 winner by Sulamani in the offing. Bred by Dr Geoffrey Guy at Doug and Lucy Procter’s Glanvilles Stud in Sherbourne, Dorset, Honeysuckle is a five-year-old mare who came to Ireland to be sold as a store at Tattersalls Ireland.”

Well, we now know that Honeysuckle has gone on and achieved the feat, and done so on only her fifth outing in an unbeaten career that promises much. Giving Rachel Blackmore her first Grade 1 win in Ireland, Honeysuckle provided owner Kenny Alexander with a memorable 1-2 in the EBF Mares Novice Hurdle Championship Final, beating another five-year-old mare, Elfile (Saint Des Saints).