Lossiemouth's dramatic exit and State Man's triumph leads to Cheltenham changes

Lossiemouth was the odds-on favourite for the Irish Champion Hurdle astatine Leopardstown but State Man claimed his 3rd triumph successful the contention arsenic punters were denied a imagination ending by the former's melodramatic precocious fall

A crashing autumn suffered by his stablemate Lossiemouth allowed State Man to travel location successful splendid isolation and assertion his 3rd triumph successful the Irish Champion Hurdle astatine Leopardstown.

The diagnostic lawsuit connected time 2 of the Dublin Racing Festival was billed arsenic a consecutive shootout betwixt the Willie Mullins-trained duo, with Lossiemouth the marginal favourite astatine 8-11 aft finishing down the superb Constitution Hill successful the Christmas Hurdle astatine Kempton connected Boxing Day.

State Man (5-4) had besides travel up abbreviated implicit the festive period, finishing a distant 3rd down Brighterdaysahead, but Paul Townend kept the religion successful the reigning champion, allowing Danny Mullins to thrust Lossiemouth for the archetypal clip since her Irish debut 3 years ago. From flag-fall the large 2 dominated, with Lossiemouth and State Man rapidly gathering up a immense vantage implicit the different 3 runners.

The decisive infinitesimal came successful the backmost consecutive arsenic Lossiemouth was inactive successful a constrictive pb erstwhile she made a atrocious mistake and fell 4 flights from home, precise astir bringing down State Man successful the process.

Townend kept the concern intact, however, and the contention was efficaciously implicit from determination arsenic State Man coasted location to bushed different Mullins runner, Daddy Long Legs, by six and a fractional lengths.

Mullins said: “Both jockeys went retired with nary instructions and I was blessed to fto them bash what they wanted, thrust their ain equine and their ain race. They were mounting it up to beryllium a hellhole of a race. What happened is disappointing for Rich (Ricci, proprietor of Lossiemouth), it’s disappointing for the nationalist and it’s disappointing for america all. It was conscionable 1 of those things and Paul said helium was fortunate not to beryllium brought down.

“Paul was happier that State Man was backmost to himself. He lone does immoderate helium has to do, and lone wins a magnitude oregon 2 erstwhile he’s right. Paul ne'er waivered from him. There was ne'er immoderate question which equine helium was going to thrust today.”

Paddy Power trimmed State Man’s likelihood to triumph a 2nd Champion Hurdle astatine Cheltenham to 7-1 from 8-1, with Lossiemouth pushed retired somewhat to 4-1 from 11-4. Former champion Constitution Hill is the 4-7 favourite to regain his crown.

Lossiemouth walked distant from her exit unscathed and portion her rider was gingerly holding his limb successful the contiguous aftermath, helium did thrust successful the adjacent race.

Of Lossiemouth, her trainer said: “When she won the Hatton’s Grace astatine Fairyhouse she was moving astatine a four-mile gait and we ever settled her successful down due to the fact that she was truthful keen.

“She is bred to beryllium mode faster than State Man, but successful the Christmas Hurdle she conscionable wasn’t utilized to that accelerated gait that they spell astir Kempton. I didn’t deliberation that was thing to bash with zest, it was conscionable to bash with the mode we’d been teaching her to race.

“I haven’t spoken to Rich, but our program has ever been to spell for the Champion Hurdle and unless they person a alteration of heart, I’m blessed she tin inactive spell for a Champion Hurdle.”