'He doesn't fluff his lines' - reliable State Man set for second Impaire Et Passe showdown in Irish Champion Hurdle
Willie Mullins has hailed the Dublin Racing Festival as "two days of hardcore jump racing with all the best horses", and the Closutton colossus won't be afraid for his stars to take each other on over the weekend, including in the Chanelle Pharma Irish Champion Hurdle on Sunday where the sequel of State Man against Impaire Et Passe is set to take place.
State Man is 1-0 up in that match after a resounding first-leg success in the Matheson Hurdle over Christmas, where he added a seventh Grade 1 at the expense of last season's Ballymore Novices' Hurdle winner. He did it with the minimum of fuss too, skipping clear after the last for a commanding three-and-a-quarter-length success.
Impaire Et Passe had the option of running in the Grade 2 hurdle at Cheltenham last weekend, but Lossiemouth took up that engagement and bolted up, so the six-year-old is set for another showdown with State Man instead.
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