Mullins has secret Champion Hurdle gameplan in mind

Willie Mullins has a plan in his head on how best to beat Constitution Hill with State Man in the Unibet Champion Hurdle – but he is not going to reveal it to anyone.

The pair have met once before when Nicky Henderson’s superstar won the 2023 running by nine lengths, but while Constitution Hill has only run four times since then, State Man subsequently rattled off a sequence of six Grade One strikes.

That included last year’s Champion Hurdle in Constitution Hill’s absence, and State Man heads to Cheltenham to defend his crown on the back of winning a third successive Irish Champion Hurdle at the weekend.

Of course, that race turned into something of an anti-climax, with stablemate Lossiemouth falling down the back straight, but they both remain on target.

“The Irish Champion Hurdle was going to be a hell of a race. I watched a head-on of Lossiemouth’s fall and a flock of seagulls took off just before she approached the hurdle, did that affect her? Something took her eye because she pricked her ears two strides before and just didn’t get up,” said Mullins.

“Thankfully, she’s good after the race, Danny (Mullins) is good, he was just winded, he was holding his wrist but he was just winded, and how lucky was State Man not to fall or pick up an injury when four metal shoes were sticking up in the air, I’ve seen lots of horses get injured that way.

“We were very lucky to win the race, and that both of them didn’t fall.

“At the moment, we’re going for the Champion with Lossiemouth, we’re not steering away from it, we’ve been training her for it for two years.”

Despite Lossiemouth being sent off favourite on Sunday, Mullins does not envisage stable jockey Paul Townend riding the mare next month.

“Paul has never hidden his admiration for State Man, obviously a lot can happen between now and then but I can’t see Paul getting off State Man,” he said.

When asked if he had a plan to beat Constitution Hill, the Closutton maestro replied: “I made a plan when Constitution Hill beat him the first year and I still have it in my head – and that is where it is staying!”

Mullins also disputes the suggestion that Lossiemouth fell because she was taken out of her comfort zone at Leopardstown, as had been the case at Kempton when second in the Christmas Hurdle behind Constitution Hill.

“If I want to sharpen her up, I could, but if you remember in the Triumph Hurdle, she ran away with Paul coming down the hill. We’ve been training her to settle, as we’ve been running her over two and a half miles,” he said.

“If you go back to the Hatton’s Grace, it was a pedestrian race, so at Kempton she thought she was just cantering to the first hurdle but they had gone and she thought ‘what’s happening here?’.

“That’s the way I read the race. When we want to kick her up to that speed, it will be no problem, I’m fairly confident anyway.”