Rachael Blackmore: An incredible day for an incredible mare – let's go out in style, Honeysuckle | The Sun

AT last, the time for talking is done, and the racing gets underway.

I’m sure people were talking about this Festival before the last one had even finished!

All the build-up, all the hype, the preview has lasted a year, and it has been a very intense past few weeks.

From a jockey’s perspective, I just can’t wait now for the first race, when it all gets going.

Henry is taking over a lovely team of horses. It’s an important week for all of us, and I’m looking forward to things getting underway.

INTHEPOCKET (1.30) will go for the Supreme now after all the rain and the changing ground.

He is a very nice horse, he kept on well to win a Grade 2 novice hurdle at Naas just before Christmas, when he probably wasn’t helped by the omission of the last two flights of hurdles.

Then he ran a solid race in the Grade 1 Tattersalls Ireland Novice Hurdle at the Dublin Racing Festival last time to finish second behind Il Etait Temps.

Most read in Horse Racing

HEAR THE ROAR

Latest Cheltenham Festival build-up with Templegate's tips and betting offers

CASH SPLASH

I won £250,000 from a fiver -Cheltenham bookies are terrified of me again

TWEED ALL ABOUT IT

Cheltenham punters can wear what they want after dress code ditched

MAJOR DEALS

Cheltenham Festival free bets and sign up deals: Best new customer offers

OFFERS OF THE DAY

Bet UK: Bet £20 and get £60 in free bets – CLAIM HERE

Sky Bet: 40/1 Constitution Hill to win the Champion HurdleCLAIM HERE

Tote: Bet £10 get £40 – CLAIM HERE

William Hill: 60/1 Facile Vega to win the Supreme Novices Hurdle CLAIM HERE

Betfair: Bet £10 Get £30CLAIM HERE

Paddy Power: Bet £20 and get it back as Cash if it LosesCLAIM HERE

Coral: Bet £5 Get £20CLAIM HERE

Bet UK: New customers opt in and stake £20+ on any sporting event at odds of 1.8 or greater before 17:30 17/03/23. Free bets non-withdrawable and 7 day expiry. Qualifying bet restrictions, exclusions and full T&Cs apply. 18+ begambleaware.org.

Sky Bet: New customers only. First single & e/w bet only. £10 minimum stake. Odds of 1/1 or greater. 4 x £10 horse racing bet token. Free bet stakes not included in returns. Free bets for horse racing only. Free bets are non withdrawable. No free bet expiry. Eligibility restrictions and further t&cs apply. 18+. Begambleaware.Org. 18+ begambleaware.Org

Tote: New customers, online only. Place your first bet on racing pools, minimum £/€10, to receive £/€40 Tote Credit. £/€20 redeemable against win/place racing bets only and £/€20 redeemable against exotics bets only. Tote Credit cannot be withdrawn, exchanged, or substituted and expires after 7 days. Qualifying bet is the first racing pool bet added to the bet slip. Full T&Cs and exclusions apply. 18+. BeGambleaware.org.

William Hill: 18+. Play Safe. When you sign-up via Mobile using promo code P40 and place a bet of £10/€10 or more we will give you 4x £10/€10 free bets credited after settlement of first qualifying bet, free bets will expire 30 days after the qualifying bet is placed, payment method/player/country restrictions apply. Virtual markets excluded. #ad begambleaware.org

Betfair – Place a min £10 bet on the Sportsbook on odds of min 1/2 (1.5), get £30 in Free Bets. Rewards valid for 30 days. SMS verification required. Only deposits via cards will qualify. T&Cs apply. Please Gamble Responsibly 18+ begambleaware.org

Paddy Power: New customers only. Place your FIRST bet on any market at odds of min 2.0 (EVS) and if it loses we will refund your stake in CASH. Max refund for this offer is £20. Only deposits made using cards will qualify for this promotion. T&Cs apply. 18+ Begambleaware.org

Coral: Eligible UK+IRE players. Paypal & some deposit & bet types excl. Min first £5 bet within 14 days of account reg at min odds 1/2 = 4x £5 free bets. Free bets valid for 7 days, stake not returned. No cash-out, restrictions & T&Cs apply. 18+ T&Cs Apply. Begambleaware.org

He is a horse who has a big future, and hopefully he can run well here and get the week off to a great start.

There is not much more that I can say about HONEYSUCKLE (4.10) that I haven’t said before.

She is simply an unbelievable mare, and she has been an unbelievable mare for me. She has been incredible for my career.

All that she has achieved, and I have been lucky enough to ride her.

As has been well publicised, this will be her last race and I won’t be looking back. We can do that when it’s over.

HOW TO GET FREE BETS ON THE CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL

Honeysuckle has given us all the big days that she could have given us so far, the crowds have been brilliant, and I would love her to have one more big day. She deserves it.

She’s in great form, she still feels like she is very well, she still feels like she has plenty of fight in her.

She showed that when she battled to hold off Vauban for second place behind State Man in the Irish Champion Hurdle last month.

It’s a very strong race, but Honeysuckle is in great order at home, she’s showing us all the right signs, everyone is happy with her.

It’s great she is going to Cheltenham again, and it’s great that I am going to get to ride her again.

Regardless of what happens on Tuesday, she has been phenomenal mare, and it will be brilliant if she can go out on a high.

It was nice to pick up the ride on BAD (4.50) for Ben Pauling in the Boodles Hurdle.

  • Cheltenham Festival LIVE: Latest tips, betting offers, sign-ups and news
  • Cheltenham Festival FREE BETS and sign-up deals 2023: Best new customer and betting offers on the market

Spare rides are very difficult to get at Cheltenham, and I have never ridden for Ben before, so it was nice to pick this one up.

I don’t know very much about Bad, but he looks like a nice horse. I watched his runs there in France the other night, and he looks very straightforward, it looks like he jumps well.

He finished second in his first two hurdles for Didier Guillemin at Bordeaux in April last year, and he was good winning there in November.

Ben and his team are positive about him, and his handicap rating of 126 looks fair, it is lower than the rating he was given in France.

Read More on The Sun

I did weekly shop at M&S and found 14 items cheaper or same price as Aldi & Lidl

I transformed my council house kitchen with cheap buys from Wilko & B&M…it’s so posh

All his form in France is on soft or heavy ground, so the rain shouldn’t do him any harm, and I am looking forward to riding him.

Rachael Blackmore is an ambassador for and was speaking to Betfair.

FREE BETS GET OVER £2,000 IN SIGN UP OFFERS HERE

Commercial content notice: Taking one of the bookmaker offers featured in this article may result in a payment to The Sun. 18+. T&Cs apply. Begambleaware.org

Remember to gamble responsibly

A responsible gambler is someone who:

  • Establishes time and monetary limits before playing
  • Only gambles with money they can afford to lose
  • Never chases their losses
  • Doesn’t gamble if they’re upset, angry or depressed
  • Gamcare – www.gamcare.org.uk
  • Gamble Aware – www.begambleaware.org

Source: Read Full Article