Hatton’s Grace Hurdle: runner-by-runner guide and verdict

Three successive Grade One contests at Fairyhouse on Sunday are capped by what promises to be a compelling renewal of the bareoneracing.com Hatton’s Grace Hurdle.

Limestone Lad, Solerina, Apple’s Jade and Honeysuckle have all been multiple winners of the 2m 4f feature – winning 11 renewals between them – and Teahupoo will become another back-to-back winner if retaining the crown he scooped 12 months ago.

However, he is up against the unbeaten Impaire Et Passeplus three others. Here’s a guide to all the runners.

Official rating: 152. Best odds: 16/1.

He was beaten off marks in the 130s in handicaps at Cheltenham and Aintree in the spring but has continued to thrive, putting up a personal best when scoring in a 3m handicap off a mark of 147 at Cheltenham’s November Meeting. Fit and in form, you cannot blame his connections for rolling the dice, but this will demand more. Conditional jockey Jack Gilligan has eased his burden by 7lb in recent starts but won’t be able to claim if again in the saddle.

Official rating: 160. Best odds: 8/11 fav.

He’s been flawless in his first five races, winning them by an aggregate of more than 44 lengths. He confirmed himself as something out of the ordinary when winning the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle in commanding style at Cheltenham in March, with four of the vanquished being Grade One winners, either before or afterwards. The five-year-old was less impressive when following up at Punchestown, but he still got the job done with something to spare. He’s no bigger than 13/2 for this season’s Champion Hurdle, although this is a race that Willie Mullins has surprisingly scooped just twice before, with his past 19 runners in it (including the odds-on Vroum Vroum Mag in 2016) all being beaten. Mullins is enjoying plenty of winners, but punters following him blind will have had a mixed time. Sixteen of his past 66 runners have been beaten after going off at 15/8 or shorter.

Official rating: 160. Best odds: 11/4.

Took his form to another level when upstaging Klassical Dream and Honeysuckle after a seven-month break in this race last year, and then breezed home in the Galmoy Hurdle before finishing a close third in the Stayers’ Hurdle and then fourth at Punchestown. It’s plain that he revels in the mud, being unbeaten in six starts on heavy going, so it will be a case of the softer the better for him at the weekend. Goes well fresh and a repeat win has probably been on his agenda for a while, so it would be folly to underestimate him.

Official rating: 156. Best odds: 16/1.

He’s 2/2 at Fairyhouse but is 0/12 when contesting Grade One races, albeit he has finished second or third in six of those contests. Ended a two-year barren sequence when winning a minor event at Punchestown last month but found Bob Olinger too strong in the Lismullen Hurdle at Navan last time. It will be a surprise if he finally comes good at the highest level in this company, for all that the ratings point to him being firmly in the mix.

Official rating: 140. Best odds: 12/1.

She’s up against it on ratings but mares have a good record in this race – they’ve won half of the past 20 editions - and this two-time course winner should not be underestimated in receipt of 7lb from all her rivals. Her only defeats over hurdles have come in Grade One company over 2m, when third at this meeting 12 months ago (behind Marine Nationale and Irish Point on heavy ground) and then when filling the same place behind Facile Vega and Il Etait Temps at Leopardstown over Christmas. She impressed when upped to this trip at Fairyhouse in the spring and could have more to offer this term.

The unbeaten Impaire Et Passe seems unlikely to be fully wound up here and his connections mentioned several times last season that he’s not one to overdo things at home. That should give odds-on backers some food for thought but he looked a bit special at Cheltenham and gets the vote. Last year’s winner, Teahupoo, is likely to make a bold defence of his crown, especially if the ground is soft or worse, while Ashroe Diamond is half-interesting at the prices.

1 IMPARE ET PASS. 2 TEAHUPOO. 3 ASHROE DIAMOND.