'He deserved his day in the sun' - State Man holds off Irish Point for commanding Champion Hurdle success

It might be to damn him with faint praise but State Man's routine annexing of the Unibet Champion Hurdle once again demonstrated the metronomic reliability of a high-class horse who some are inclined to condemn simply for not being Constitution Hill.

He never wins by far, he doesn't leave you reaching for the superlatives and there isn't really any 'wow' factor with him. There is absolutely nothing flashy about the chestnut son of Doctor Dino.

What there is, though, is an understated yet undeniable dollop of quality coursing through his very being. In a Champion Hurdle run in conditions that were officially described as heavy but might have been better described as bottomless, he was in his element. When the going gets tough, State Man gets going.

Paul Townend, who was completing the full set of championship races in the Cotswolds, is of a similarly unobtrusive hue. The 33-year-old has never been possessed of the sheer force of personality that defined his predecessor Ruby Walsh, but he really is Mr Reliable. 

He has long had a particularly soft spot for State Man and their bond was displayed in all its mellow glory here. They are absolutely made for each other.

He settled the 2-5 favourite on the inside in behind the pacesetting Not So Sleepy and Nemean Lion. They were tracked by Irish Point, and Townend watched Jack Kennedy all the way, keeping his most potent danger in his sights. 

The grey Irish Point puts it up to Champion Hurdle winner State ManCredit: Alan Crowhurst (racingpost.com/photos)

When Irish Point led two out, State Man got the tow he wanted. Townend eased him alongside coming to the final flight, which he popped neatly before knuckling down to grind out a length-and-a-half success with Luccia keeping on to defy the otherwise grim form of Nicky Henderson's team to take third a few lengths further back.

This characteristically professional success was State Man's ninth Grade 1 and his fifth since Constitution Hill slammed him 12 months earlier. He might be lacking the bombast of Henderson's lesser-spotted star, but he certainly does not lack constitution. 

"He turns up and if you don't turn up, you can't win," Willie Mullins said in tribute to the Joe and Marie Donnelly-owned seven-year-old, who was securing the insatiable champion trainer a fifth win in the £465,750 showpiece.  

"He does what it says on the tin, he's that sort of a horse. There isn't a wow factor, but he is a very solid, sound horse and he just gives his run every day." 

Of the performance, he added: "It was very workmanlike, but I think in that ground you don't want to set a horse alight too early and that's one of the things Paul was afraid of coming down the hill, that if he got racing too early Irish Point might outstay him. We think our fellow is a good stayer, but he just didn't want to get racing too early."

Townend made it all look typically uncomplicated, but, as ever, his judgement in the moment was exquisite. By taking cover with Irish Point on his outer, there was the possibility of Kennedy locking him up coming down the hill, but he was alive to the danger. The Grand National is effectively the only marquee race now left for him to claim and Mullins was full of admiration for his cool hand.

State Man and Paul Townend return to the winner's enclosureCredit: GROSSICK RACING

"I was surprised he rode him so deep in the race, but he was happy he had all the opposition that he was afraid of where he wanted them," Mullins said.

"I was concerned he was a little bit far back, that if he made a mistake or anything, next thing you are trying to get into it in this ground, but he is just riding with so much confidence and he has so much confidence in the horse. He's just so good under pressure." 

Of the conditions, Mullins added: "It is as heavy as I have ever seen it when I walked it this morning."

Mullins confirmed State Man would now be aimed at Punchestown, while Gordon Elliott, who expressed himself "delighted" with the progressive Irish Point's plucky display, suggested his grey would now be aimed at the Aintree Hurdle.

Townend, who bookended a short-priced treble with Gaelic Warrior in the Arkle and Lossiemouth in the Mares' Hurdle, was glowing afterwards.

"He's an old favourite of mine and deserved a big day like this," he beamed. "He's a simple horse to ride and he's a champion back home. Constitution Hill was too good for him here last year and he deserved his day in the sun."

Paul Townend soaks in the cheers from the Cheltenham crowdCredit: Alan Crowhurst

Constitution Hill's absence means an asterisk clearly still lingers. Mullins knows as much, but he was adamant State Man is a better horse now.

"I thought we had him in a way better position than last year," he said. "I just thought he had improved, and his second last run at Leopardstown was better than anything he had ever done, so the horse has got stronger and more mature this year, and it all went smoothly."

That much is true, although it seemed to epitomise the extent to which State Man is underappreciated that no sooner had he cooled down than Lossiemouth's demolition job saw her introduced at 7-2 for the 2024 Champion Hurdle, behind Constitution Hill at 6-4. State Man can be backed at 4-1, so he is clearly still not getting a lot of credit for what he does so consistently.

Anyway, that's all for another day. Right now he is the one sporting the crown. Long live the king. 

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