Honeysuckle the Perfect Champion at Cheltenham Festival 2021
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Question that's been asked to ask you as a broadcaster who has been to pretty much every major events in the world. And you've anchorage a loss of mainstream on terrestrial television in america but also you've covered pretty much every cheltenham festival in your career. What was it like would know crowd. Well we had had a year. I suppose of getting used to that crowd and even some pretty big events but it was right up there as very strange indeed because i think the restrictions of tightened here in the last couple of months before or they get loosened again restrictions tighter for children than perhaps they'd ever seen it at any major fixture at certain types it than they were at the breeders cup ties than it looked in in the middle east and an in australia so it was really odd him because cheltenham more than any other event is so contingent on on the crowds and provide atmosphere. It really was a an odd not experienced but by midway through the first after noon. I'd almost forgotten at one point. The crowd that i mean if you will if you're broke cussing racing. Cd audience as distinct from it audience. Perhaps you could say that. The crowd isn't as isn't as important. Because you're not going to be putting quite as much of that into the so Yeah bye-bye halfway through day one. My mind had been taken off it. But then there were moments that punctuated the week. Where you were. You reminded of quite stock again but still the the quality of this boat was outstanding when they ride the record books. They don't want to write the asterisk. That was crowd so it didn't seem to take the gloss off too much for henry bra. Gb buck and certainly an operational. Absolutely not i suppose. The top performance came day one and the champion hurdle the uni bet champion hurdle before the sponsors comes running after me with an ax honeysuckle and rachel block. More get back to back. Cheltenham festival wins another brilliant performance from henry de bromhead at cheltenham would last year's form kind of holding up sharjah. The runner up last year was second again. And the winner of last year's race epa ton with our new jockey. Aidan coleman finishing third. Nick what was your overall impression of of this year's champion your reaction as i watched was. I'm pretty sure it was is. The director came to you and said nick iran. I'm pretty sure you use went. Wow that's that kind of summed it up for all of us. I probably got a bit carried away in all honesty. But we do. Occasionally we do occasionally get a bit carried away and i. It was a completely genuine emotion. I wasn't trying to compensate dirty. Was i genuinely was blown away by so i tried to work out. Why subsequently i made some cloud landed comments that would probably verging toward hyperbole. And i think it's because of the way she finished her race off the way the the way in which she rounded the final almost on rails honeysuckle jumped the loss and then scampered up the running. And i left the impression of a performance of of of of otter total dominance on. I was staggered. By how well. She finished off the race now. Subsequent section now. The ray suggests that the reason for that was that they'd slowed the pace down. Because gordon was being a head banger. In the middle of the race they. The pace of the race had slackened significantly and really at turned into a test of speed and she was able to win like she was because as she was in grateful be. She's very very good. See she's got more than people thought she had. Indeed she was tactically. Well positioned biracial blackmore. But the the image the impression of scampering away from shahjahan episodes in a really good time the hill really good finishing split Just was just made me feel good and before you start talking about ratings and allowances where it sits in the pantheon ultime champion other. When is it just made me feel good. And i didn't think at that point they would be many. If any performance during the week to to eclipse i in terms of dominance and quality. How wrong i was