'He should be the one to beat' - State Man v Impaire Et Passe in magic Matheson Hurdle

Willie Mullins has won this contest in nine of the last 11 runnings, and it is scarcely conceivable that Closutton will not add another to the list since the Gordon Elliott-trained Fils D'Oudairies appears to provide only token opposition to last year's winner State Man, last season's Ballymore hero Impaire Et Passe and Echoes In Rain, successful in the Grade 1 mares' hurdle at this year's Punchestown festival.

It's hard to envisage a tactical scenario in which State Man will fail to cope with his two stablemates. Save for his failure to match Constitution Hill in last season's Champion Hurdle, he has won all his eight races since falling two out in a maiden hurdle at this venue two years ago. He's an uncomplicated 2m specialist who saw off all his opponents, including Honeysuckle, on the domestic scene last term and he began the new season with a thoroughly professional performance in beating Echoes In Rain and Fils D'Oudairies in the Morgiana Hurdle.

In contrast, Impaire Et Passe arrives with his reputation dented by defeat in the Hatton's Grace at Fairyhouse. It was no disgrace to lose his unbeaten record to the excellent Teahupoo, but there is not enough substance in his form to suggest he can beat State Man over 2m, a trip he has tackled only once, at Punchestown in January, in a race that was a Grade 2 in name only. 

His Ballymore victory, visually impressive though it was, came in a race in which Hermes Allen flopped and his Punchestown festival win was not especially convincing. 

However there is precedent for an upset in this race. In 2017 Faugheen, the 2-11 favourite, was pulled up and victory went to Gordon Elliott's Mick Jazz, but it would require a bizarre combination of circumstances for Fils D'Oudairies to provide a reprise. Mullins has won this three times in the past ten years with his second string according to the betting.
Race analysis by Alan Sweetman

'He has a favourite's chance'

Willie Mullins has elected to allow two of his star hurdlers to lock horns in this Grade 1 with State Man seeking to land his seventh domestic Grade 1 success and follow up on his impressive victory in last season's running when he scooted four and a half lengths clear of Vauban.

However, the six-year-old will have to contend with Impaire Et Passe, who lost his unbeaten record at Fairyhouse this month when failing to reel in Teahupoo, but remains an immensely promising prospect.

He drops back to 2m for the first time since landing the Moscow Flyer at Punchestown last season and it will be fascinating to see if he can overhaul his prolific stablemate to become the biggest challenger to Constitution Hill's Champion Hurdle crown.

Echoes In Rain also pitches up for Mullins after she was beaten five lengths into second by State Man in the Morgiana Hurdle at Punchestown last month.

Mullins said: "State Man comes here in good form and on all known form he should be the one to beat. Conditions are okay for him and he comes here with a favourite's chance.

"Impaire Et Passe drops down in trip from the Hatton's Grace. We've swerved the Relkeel Hurdle at Cheltenham, which was an option, to let him come back to two miles and I think a change in tactics will be in order after what happened at Fairyhouse. It'll test his Champion Hurdle credentials and I expect him to run a much better race than at Fairyhouse.

"Echoes In Rain will be running for place money and more black type, but if you're not in you can't win. She's in good heart at home."

Gordon Elliott's dual Grade 3 winner Fils D'Oudairies makes up the quartet of runners and the trainer said: "He's obviously up against it, but we said we'd have a go. He's already had a great year and won plenty of races."
Reporting by Conor Fennelly

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