Cheltenham Festival: Honeysuckle tops Champion Hurdle 2022 antepost market

*Odds quoted on the widget are Future Racing/Antepost prices which means that if your selection does not run in the race for whatever reason, you will lose your stake under traditional antepost rules

The National Hunt season is set to gather pace and all roads lead to Cheltenham for next year’s Festival at Prestbury Park.

As is tradition, the Champion Hurdle will once again be the feature race on the first of the four days. Honeysuckle justified her status as the 11/10 favourite to come out on top in last year’s renewal and spark a rush of winners for Henry de Bromhead as he became the first trainer to land the Champion Hurdle, Champion Chase and Gold Cup in the same week.

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Honeysuckle is available at 2/1 in Paddy’s antepost market to retain the Champion Hurdle in 2022 and looks set to follow a similar schedule to last season, starting off in the Hatton’s Grace Hurdle at Fairyhouse.

Bob Olinger confirmed his credentials as one of the up-and-coming stars of the Jumps game by comfortably winning this year’s Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle. De Bromhead’s charge is priced at 8/1 for the 2022 Champion Hurdle but is set to be “going over fences” this campaign.

Willie Mullins’ Appreciate It demolished his rivals in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle to tee up the possibility of a Champion Hurdle campaign, although our resident jockey-turned-pundit Ruby Walsh believes a different race at Cheltenham should be the target.

Speaking on our From The Horse’s Mouth podcast, Ruby said: “If I was riding for Willie he’d be heading for the Arkle.”

2020 Champion Bumper winner Ferny Hollow missed this year’s Festival after suffering a stress fracture but is available at 12/1 for the 2022 Champion Hurdle. It’s worth remembering he beat Bob Olinger by 1l on his last start in a maiden hurdle at Gowran Park.

Epatante won the Champion Hurdle in 2020 but found Honeysuckle too hot to handle in this year’s renewal. She is available at 16/1 in our antepost book, the same price as Sharjah, who has finished second in the last two runnings.

Another interesting name priced up by Paddy’s horse racing traders is Jeff Kidder at 20/1. The Noel Meade-trained four-year-old was a shock 80/1 winner of the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle before confirming that form by winning a Grade 2 at Fairyhouse and the Ballymore Champion Four Year Old Hurdle at the Punchestown Festival in May. JCB Triumph Hurdle winner Quilixios is also available at 20/1 in the early betting.