It’s Willie Mullins and Paul Townend that back up the chat, and follow-through with favourite State Man at the 15:30, Champions Hurdle on Day One of the Cheltenham festival.
Mullins had nothing but praise for the his jockey and horse, following their victory.
“It was amazing the way Paul (Townend) rode him, I’d thought he’d be much more forward.”
The trainer never thought in his dreams that the partnership would be “Fifth jumping the fourth last, and he just rolled with supreme confidence, I never dreamt he’d be that far back (and still win)”
Mullins put it simply “When jockey’s are riding with confidence they can do things like that”
State Man makes it look easy!@PTownend lands the Unibet Champion Hurdle for @WillieMullinsNH #ITVRacing | #CheltenhamFestival pic.twitter.com/MtUeBcHv0f
— ITV Racing (@itvracing) March 12, 2024
When asked if Constitution Hill was fit for Punchestown, would Mullins relish in a clash with the horse that was so dominate in this race 12 months ago.
Mullins simply replied “You’ve got to turn up to win a Champion Hurdle, and we turned up.” in a mic-drop moment from the Irish trainer.
