State Man’s underwhelming start to the season cast a little doubt over his Irish Champion Hurdle credentials. On his seasonal debut in November, the eight-year-old suffered his first defeat since March 2023 and failed to immediately return to winning ways when given a run-out at Leopardstown.
Despite this, Willie Mullins’ gelding managed to successfully defend his title in the Irish Champion Hurdle, earning himself a third win in the prestigious contest. Following this much-needed victory, we take a look at what may lie in store for State Man, for the rest of the season and beyond.
Return to Winning Ways in the Irish Champion Hurdle
As State Man spent all of the 2023/24 National Hunt campaign unbeaten, it was little surprise that many punters expect him to return to pick up where he left off in November’s Morgiana Hurdle. As it was though, the well-backed 4/9 favourite narrowly lost out to a fine effort by Brighterdaysahead, who benefitted from a seven-pound allowance for being a mare. The two met again the following month but this time Gordon Elliot’s mare faced no competition as she cruised to a huge 30 length win.
State Man, who had to settle for third place behind 66/1 shot Winter Fog, never travelled according to jockey Paul Townend. Watching the footage back of the Neville Hotels Hurdle, the eight-year-old gallops so slowly down the home stretch it looks like he’s going backwards. Even the best have bad days though, so State Man’s chances in the Irish Champion Hurdle were far from written off.
The chestnut gelding began the prestigious contest as the 5/4 second favourite, in what was expected to be a battle with stablemate Lossiemouth (8/11). This proved to be the case until Lossiemouth took a tumble four flights out. Willie Mullins suggested that a flock of seagulls may have caught the eye of Lossiemouth before she went to jump, causing the mistake. Given the obvious presence of seagulls and Lossiemouth’s otherwise impeccable jumping record, it seems to be a reasonable theory.
With the only serious challenge from the race removed, State Man was able to canter to a third Irish Champion Hurdle win. While the win was celebrated, it was difficult to take too much from the performance as the horse was practically racing against himself for the final 40% of the contest. That said, the winning time was only one second slower than in the previous year, which was also run on soft ground. The question is, could State Man have run faster if needed on the day? Or is he not yet back to his best?
Champion Hurdle Awaits
It is a safe bet to assume that State Man will next be in action trying to defend his crown in the Champion Hurdle during the Cheltenham Festival. In last year’s race he was sent off as the 2/5 favourite and finished strongly to beat Gordon Elliot’s Irish Point by over a length. This was not a particularly strong edition of the Champion Hurdle though and State Man will certainly face some stiffer opposition this time around.
For one, there is Constitution Hill, who beat State Man by nine lengths on his way to the 2023 Champion Hurdle title. This is the only time the pair have previously met and Nicky Henderson’s horse is yet to taste defeat across his four starts since then. The lasting impact of an unspecified ailment ruled him out of last year’s race but he is back and looking very formidable ahead of this renewal.
As well as this you have Brighterdaysahead, who has inflicted two defeats on State Man this season, plus stablemate Lossiemouth. Both may head to the Mares’ Hurdle instead though to avoid Constitution Hill. Fighting Fifth winner Sir Gino would also be a fierce opponent but the Arkle seems a more likely destination for him.
Willie Mullins, without giving any details, revealed that he has a plan on how to beat Constitution Hill but it is hard to find his claim too convincing. This is especially true given Mullins admitted he tried the same plan unsuccessfully in the 2023 Champion Hurdle!
What Else For State Man?
Currently eight years old, there is little reason to think that State Man will not secure more success, even if it’s not in this year’s Champion Hurdle. The last two seasons he has followed the same route (Morgiana Hurdle, Neville Hotels Hurdle, Irish Champion Hurdle and Champion Hurdle) so he could well do the same in 2025/26. Should he successfully defend his crown in the Irish Champion Hurdle, he would pull level with Istabraq and find himself just one short of the all-time record of five wins set by the mighty Hurricane Fly.
