It's Guineas weekend at Newmarket, while Willie Mullins is not done redefining the art of the possible at Punchestown

A long and potentially very good Friday awaits racing fans as the opening salvo of Newmarket's Qipco Guineas festival on ITV segues seamlessly into day four of Punchestown, where Willie Mullins continues to rewrite his and everyone else's history at a relentless pace. 

Fresh from raising his own mark in terms of Grade 1 victories for the season on Thursday, Mullins plays two of his most powerful cards in a pair of showpiece races that not only aim to set the seasonal seal on their divisions for this campaign but also illuminate what might be major themes next winter. 

It is only right to start with the reigning Champion Hurdle hero State Man, whose unerring ability to get the job done means he will be long odds-on to confirm his Cheltenham superiority over Irish Point in the Boodles Champion Hurdle (6.00), despite having only a length and a quarter to play with from last month.