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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Oisin Doherty

Henry de Bromhead pays emotional farewell to Honeysuckle as she enters retirement

Henry de Bromhead has paid an emotional farewell to Honeysuckle as she enters her retirement.

The supermare ran her last race at the Cheltenham Festival two weeks ago with Rachael Blackmore guiding Honeysuckle to her fourth consecutive victory at the famous meeting in the Mares' Hurdle on the opening day of the Festival.

Prior to the event, it was strongly suggested that Cheltenham would be Honeysuckle's final race, and while de Bromhead did hint at a possible leopardstown send off, she has indeed entered retirement.

Posting a video to social media of Honeysuckle leaving the yard for the final time, trainer de Bromhead paid tribute to the legendary mare that won 17 times in 19 starts.

"Goodbye Honeysuckle….it’s been amazing.

"Here’s to the next chapter…⁦

"@Pmolony1Peter @Goffs1866 @Rathmor @rachaelblackmor⁦ @CheltenhamRaces @Fairyhouse @punchestownrac @LeopardstownRC."

De Bromhead's tribute comes just one day after Rachael Blackmore penned an emotional farewell to the mare which she teamed up with to great effect on many occasions.

She wrote in her Betfair column: "For me, gratitude from every angle is the overwhelming feeling when it comes to the story of Honeysuckle.

Rachael Blackmore returns after riding Honeysuckle to win Mares' Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival (Getty Images)

"An impressive winner of a point-to-point in Dromahane for Mark O'Hare, she was liked by Henry, Heather and Peter Molony at the Punchestown Goffs Sale and bought for Kenny. She arrived in Knockeen, July 2018. The wheels were set in motion.

"Thank you."

You can read Blackmore's tribute to Honeysuckle in full here.

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