Willie Mullins maintains State Man still his leading light despite recent disappointments
Jodie Townend on State Man, right, with trainer Willie Mullins at the launch of the Dublin Racing Festival.
The season to date has not gone to plan for Champion Hurdler State Man but Willie Mullins is adamant he remains the stable’s number one in the two-mile hurdling division as his Closutton team shapes up for the upcoming Dublin Racing Festival at Leopardstown and subsequent spring festivals.
Joe and Marie Donnelly’s star hurdler made a pleasing return to action when narrowly outpointed by Brighterdaysahead in the Morgiana Hurdle at Punchestown but failed to build on that when a well-beaten third behind the same mare at Leopardstown’s Christmas meeting.
Despite the obvious concern arising from that defeat and the fact nothing came to light in subsequent observations, Mullins remains pleased with how the ten-time Grade One winner is working as he chases a third consecutive victory in the Irish Champion Hurdle.
“Always,” replied Mullins, adamantly, when asked if, in a yard which houses Lossiemouth and Anzadam amongst a whole host of talented horses in the division, State Man is still his leading light for the Champion Hurdle assignments ahead.
“He disappointed at Christmas, but we never knock a horse for one bad run. He’s our number one contender.
“He didn't turn up last time out and we were very disappointed, and I don’t know why, but I would hope we can get him back to himself. We’ll only know that on the day, but we are happy with what he is doing at home.”
While his charge underperformed, Mullins admitted to being taken by the winner: “She put in some performance. I'd be delighted to have her in the yard here - do you hear that Michael (O'Leary, owner)? It was a huge performance. I was in awe of the performance she put in.” Mullins has his own mare, Lossiemouth, who could yet put her stamp on the two-mile hurdling division, and she is also a possible runner at Leopardstown, though alternative engagements, including this weekend at Cheltenham, remain open to her.
Having beaten Stayers’ Hurdle champion Teahupoo in the Hatton’s Grace at Fairyhouse, she came up short behind former Champion Hurdler Constitution Hill at Kempton but seemed not to be herself as she struggled from the outset..
“We've been trying to settle her here all the time in those two-and-a-half mile races and she set off at Kempton at two-and-a-half or three-mile pace,” said Mullins. “The race was gone before the first hurdle and I thought she ran well considering what was in her head, the way we've been teaching her the last few years. It’ll be different the next day.”
One stable star with nothing to prove is the two-time Cheltenham Gold Cup and six-time Leopardstown winner Galopin Des Champs, who is firmly on course for a third consecutive victory in the Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup.
“I think we’re all set for Leopardstown, and maybe another showdown with Fact To File,” said Mullins. “Embassy Gardens and Minella Cocooner are in the mix as well, so we have a nice team from Closutton going there.
“To me, Galopin was awesome at Christmas. He just loves Leopardstown – and hopefully he can do it one more time in the Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup.
“Fact To File is good. JP (McManus, owner) and Mark (Walsh, jockey) are keen to take on Galopin Des Champs again, so I am sure, all being well, he'll do that.
“He was a bit gassy alright (in the Savills Chase) but I find that horses are less keen as they go through the season.
“I think he will have to do something different if he’s to beat him. I'll leave that to Mark and see what he wants to do – he might have a different tactic up his sleeve – but we'll leave that until the parade ring before the race.
“Embassy Gardens disappointed us a little last year in the National Hunt Chase. This year, we went down to Tramore and there was nothing obvious to make the pace, so we said to Mikey (O’Sullivan), ‘if you bounce out, he loves galloping, loves jumping, so see what happens’. It worked out fantastic.
“Sean and Bernardine Mulryan (owners) don't have Fastorslow (ruled out for the season) but now they might have another to take over as their one horse in this division this year. We're just a little worried about his second-half-of-the-season form so we'll do a bit of soul searching before he runs next.”
Mullins, never afraid to run stable stars against each other - “when people invest money in good horses, you have to run them in the good races,” – might scoff at the idea of ever repeating his eight Grade Ones at the 2024 DRF, but for those on the outside looking or listening in, the idea is far from outlandish.
For much of the early part of the season, he openly admitted to being a bit back from where he would have hoped to have had his team, fitness-wise, but, ominously, that is no longer the case.
“I think the horses are fit. We had one or two setbacks at Christmas but on New Year's Day we had six winners, was it? And it has just flown since then. We’re very happy.”
