The Cheltenham glory days of Honeysuckle are over but the Rachael Blackmore-Henry de Bromhead team has a bright new festival star on its hands after Slade Steel landed Tuesday’s Sky Bet Supreme Novices Hurdle at Cheltenham.
Switched to the week’s opener to avoid Ballyburn, ground conditions turned testing by a morning deluge helped reward such strategic initiative as the 7-2 shot rallied from the last to beat Mystical Power by 1½ lengths.
It was a margin that flattered the runner-up as his rival had reacted to being in front before the last with a gaucheness that underlined his novice status. Mystical Power’s good jump briefly took him past, but Blackmore’s drive quickly focused minds and the winner was well in control at the line.
On a day that saw Honeysuckle win a pair of Champion Hurdles, as well as last year’s hugely emotional Mares Hurdle that brought her stunning career to a close, it was a reminder of just how successfully De Bromhead’s team is navigating its way through a transition phase.
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If that phrase is often a cop-out in other sports, the retirement of other stars, such as the Gold Cup hero A Plus Tard, that catapulted both De Bromhead and Blackmore to international prominence meant adaptability would inevitably be required.
A young horse with the racing world at his feet such as Slade Steel is priceless to such a process as the exultant reaction of two professionals with such bulging CVs suggested.
“Fair play to the Robcour team [owners], they said Ballyburn has beaten us twice and we need to just avoid him, so that’s what we did, and it’s worked out really well for us.
“It’s lovely to see young horses like him coming through, we’re very fortunate the support we get from everyone and thankfully we get the odd result,” De Bromhead said.
It was a first Supreme success for Blackmore, too, who predicted a bright future for the former point-to-point winner.
“I was headed after the last but I knew after two strides I was going to get there again. A lot can change between the last hurdle and the line here.
“I think the sky’s the limit for him. He’s just a very talented horse and he could be back here on the Friday [for the Gold Cup] some day, you never know,” she said.
Just to underline how festival fortunes can fluctuate, Blackmore was on the back foot in the following Arkle as the fancied Quilixios blew his chance at the start.
She told a subsequent stewards’ enquiry she restrained her mount to a walk in expectation of a false start that didn’t happen. Explanations, including from the starter, were noted.
Considering he was a Boodles Hurdle ‘buzz’ horse, perhaps the most notable aspect of Lark In The Mornin’s victory was his 9-1 SP.
But easy as he won, it was nothing compared to Corbetts Cross who all but ran away for much of the marathon National Hunt Chase and still passed the post 17 lengths clear of the favourite Embassy Gardens.
It was a fitting success for trainer Emmet Mullins in the race named in honour of his late grandmother, Maureen Mullins.
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