The Morgiana Hurdle at Punchestown racecourse will all set up to be an epic renewal, with Irish hurdling heavyweights State Man, Lossiemouth and Brighterdaysahead locking horns in the Grade One on Saturday.
However, with top Irish trainer Willie Mullins responsible for State Man and Lossiemouth – many wondered what the jockey situation would be for the pair, with regular rider for both horses – Paul Townend getting the pick.
Paul Townend Will Ride State Man In Morgiana Hurdle
Having rewarded Paul Townend with first Champion Hurdle success at the Cheltenham Festival in March, then the Willie Mullins number one rider has stayed loyal to State Man – picking him over Lossiemouth in Saturday’s unmissable Morgiana Hurdle clash at Leopardstown.
Townend, who has benefitted greatly as the Mullins number one rider since Ruby Walsh retired in 2019, has ridden State Man in all-bar-two of his 15 career runs – and he’ll be on his back again this weekend.
However, it probably wasn’t an easy decision to make as Townend has also been responsible for the rise of the talented mare Lossiemouth – who he’s ridden in her last seven races – winning six.
Lossiemouth is also a mare, so will get a handy 7lbs weight allowance from State Man – but with Townend’s ride rated 169 to Lossiemouth’s 156, even with the weight pull State Man is 6lbs well-in.
That said, many horse racing fans feel that at just 5 years-old Lossiemouth has a lot more improvement to come, whereas we pretty much know where we are with State Man – who has also won the last two runnings of the Morgiana Hurdle.
Patrick Mullins Comes In For The Ride On Lossiemouth
So with the Lossiemouth ride up for grabs, Willie Mullins has turned to his son Patrick Mullins, who will get the leg-up on this classy mare.
As mentioned Paul Townend has ridden Lossiemouth in seven of her nine career starts (6 wins), with the only other riders to sit on her in a race being Danny Mullins and Jeremy Da Silva, when she raced in France once.
Patrick Mullins will, therefore, be riding Lossiemouth for the first time in a race. But being heavily involved in the Willie Mullins set-up at Closutton he’ll have schooled Lossiemouth many times at home, so looks the perfect pick.
The two big players in the market with the best horse racing betting sites in the UK, will also take on another promising mare in Brighterdaysahead from the Gordon Elliott yard. She’s rated 3lbs lower than Lossiemouth at 153 so is certainly no back number as she looks to give her handler just his second win in the race.
This in contrast to the monster haul of 13 Morgiana Hurdle wins that Willie Mullins has on his CV.
Morgiana Hurdle 2024: Race Details
📅Date: Saturday 23rd November 2024
⌚Time: 2:10pm
🏇Racecourse: Punchestown
🔄Trip: 2m 1/2f
💷Winning Purse: €88,500
📺 TV: ITV / Racing TV
