State Man Primed for Dominance in Irish Champion Hurdle, Townend Confident

Paul Townend is eager to ride "exceptional" State Man. The race is the Chanelle Pharma Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown. Willie Mullins trained the seven-year-old State Man. He has won nine of his last ten races since his initial mishap in Ireland over two years ago. His sole loss was to Constitution Hill at the previous season's Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.

In his latest race, State Man impressively defeated his strong stablemate, Impaire Et Passe. It was in the Matheson Hurdle at Leopardstown's Christmas meet. This win was his second in a row.

Townend is the reigning Irish champion jockey. He has had much success with State Man, except for their early fall in a maiden hurdle at Leopardstown. The decision to choose State Man over Impaire Et Passe for the Christmas race was clear to him. He stated that witnessing State Man's win from the second spot would be more bearable than seeing Impaire Et Passe achieve the same.

Townend ranks State Man just below Constitution Hill. He describes State Man as a simple and elite horse.

State Man is favored to win his second Irish Champion Hurdle at the Dublin Racing Festival. He won last year in a dominant performance where he overthrew Honeysuckle. In addition to Impaire Et Passe, Mullins might also bring Echoes In Rain to the competition. Echoes In Rain finished third in the Matheson Hurdle. Henry de Bromhead hopes for more success for Bob Olinger. Bob had a strong showing in the Relkeel Hurdle at Cheltenham on New Year's Day. The potential lineup is rounded off by Gordon Elliott's Fils D'oudairies, who finished last in the Matheson Hurdle.