State Man underscored his status as the chief danger to Constitutional Hill with his fifth victory in a row at Leopardstown yet caused barely a ripple in the Champion Hurdle betting.
He delivered a 1-2-3 for Willie Mullins, by beating Vauban and Sharjah, and a fifth consecutive triumph for Ireland’s champion jumps trainer in the Matheson Hurdle.
It was another rewarding final day of the Leopardstown Christmas Festival for Mullins and jockey Paul Townend who captured the other Grade 1 Neville Hotels Novice Chase with Gaillard Du Mesnil.
The race ended in tragedy for both Gordon Elliot and Oliver McKiernan as both Three Stripe Life, who finished second in the Ballymore Novices Hurdle at Cheltenham and won a Grade 1 novice hurdle at Aintree last season, and Unexpected Depth were put down after suffering injuries.
State Man, who won the County Hurdle at the Festival in March, has now won five in a row but has yet to do enough to loosen Constitution Hill’s grip on the big race market as he remained 1-3 favourite with William Hill from State Man on 5-1 and Honeysuckle on 7-1.
Mullins said: “State Man is just going through the motions, improving all the time. Paul has huge confidence in him and I’m hoping he will improve all the way up to the Irish Champion Hurdle and then maybe onto Cheltenham after that.
“We all have to get to Cheltenham. It’s a long time. Horses can get injured and puck up little knocks.
“Constitution Hill looks very good on what he did last year and what he did the other day. I imagine he will improve but State Man will too. There is Honeysuckle there too. She flies around Cheltenham and she is not out of the reckoning.”
