State Man breezes to third successive Irish Champion Hurdle after Lossiemouth falls

A third successive Irish Champion Hurdle triumph means the record books will show that Paul Townend was vindicated in his decision to remain loyal to State Man, but it turned out to be a lamentably hollow victory after Lossiemouth dramatically crashed out at the third-last hurdle before the battle began in earnest.

Danny Mullins had set out to serve it up to the reigning champion from the get-go on Lossiemouth, who was sent off the 8-11 favourite, and it looked like we were set fair for the sort of duel that we had been promised.

Townend sat right on the leader's quarters and they had the race to themselves as the three outsiders kept a respectful distance behind, and neither Mullins nor Townend had made any discernible move as they approached the final flight in the back straight.

They had gone hard so we didn't expect to die wondering. Alas, we were deprived of anything like a satisfactory resolution to the riddle that had seen Townend's trust in his doughty old partner mean he was in the rare position of being on a Closutton second string according to the betting market.

Lossiemouth took a horrible fall under Mullins and Townend did well to stay atop State Man as she turned over right in his path. We might have lost them both but, as it was, Marie and Joe Donnelly's eight-year-old was left to complete the race in relative isolation.

A day after being carried in on a wave of euphoria, Townend returned to a muted reception despite completing an incredible double-treble in the weekend's showpiece events.

Thankfully, both Mullins and Lossiemouth emerged without obvious serious injury, but the incident sucked the life out of Leopardstown.

"It looked like it was setting up to be a titanic race but we didn't get it," mused Mullins, who had four winners on the day. "I let both jockeys do whatever they wanted so they went out with no instructions, just ride their own race, their own horse, and they were setting it up to be a hell of a race I'd say.

"It's just disappointing for [Lossiemouth's owner] Rich Ricci, for the public, for us all, not to see what the outcome would be. It's just one of those things."

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Mullins was winning the €200,000 Grade 1, which is without a sponsor, for a ninth time. Normally that would have a certain impact on the shape of things ahead of the equivalent race at Cheltenham next month. However, on this occasion, much like the dented atmosphere, what transpired also served to deflate the Champion Hurdle picture.

For all that State Man, who had completely misfired here at Christmas, returned unchallenged at odds of 5-4 from his fellow Donnelly-owned stablemate Daddy Long Legs, with Winter Fog completing the 1-2-3 for Closutton, the gap was narrowing at the line. .

From a neutral's perspective, notwithstanding he had been impeded, you would be hard-pushed to describe the visual manner of it as especially impressive, and Paddy Power reacted by trimming Constitution Hill to 4-7 from 8-11.

Lossiemouth was eased to 4-1 from 11-4 and State Man was given something of a token trim to 7-1 from 8-1 ahead of his quest to retain his Cheltenham crown.

Asked to assess State Man's performance, his first win of the campaign after two defeats behind Brighterdaysahead, Mullins said: "I'm happy that he was back to himself, but it's hard to know. I've always said about State Man that we don't know how good he is because he only does whatever he has to do. He only ever wins by a length or two when he's right."

Lossiemouth and State Man jump the first in the Irish Champion HurdleCredit: Patrick McCann

Last season much was made of how State Man kept turning up, his clockwork consistency often deployed as a foil to Constitution Hill's travails at the time. Once again, then, his metronomic reliability served him well here, for jumping is the name of the game. This is why Townend isn't minded to abandon him in a hurry.

"We don't know what would have happened," the rider conceded. "I was lucky not to be brought down and the positives to take out of it up to that are that he went the gallop no bother today. He felt better in himself. Take nothing away from him, he can only do what he does."

To the victor the spoils, then, but this one left us all inexplicably deflated. For Lossiemouth, after failing to cope with Constitution Hill in the Christmas Hurdle, now she must be picked up after an even more shuddering setback. Plans obviously remain up in the air, but Mullins' immediate instinct here was that she is still entitled to her shot at the Champion Hurdle.

What was an already gargantuan assignment seems that bit more formidable now.

Unibet Champion Hurdle (Cheltenham, March 11)
Sponsors: 4-7 Constitution Hill, 4 Brighterdayshead, 9-2 Lossiemouth, 7 State Man, 20 Sir Gino, 25 Burdett Road, 50 bar

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