Punchestown Friday review: Reports, reaction and free video replays

State rules again at Punchestown

State Man got back on the winning trail with a pillar-to-post success under Paul Townend in the Paddy Power Champion Hurdle.

Willie Mullins' Irish Champion Hurdle hero had to settle for a nine-length second behind the brilliant Constitution Hill in the Unibet Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham last month but was sent off the rock-solid 2/5 favourite on the back of that display and his supports barely had a moment's worry.

Stablemate Vauban, the mount of Danny Mullins, latched onto the front-running market leader on the turn for home but State Man found plenty when asked to quicken and put the race to bed.

A slick jump at the last sealed the deal and he galloped on to score by three lengths, with Vauban (100/30) second and the up in class Colonel Mustard (33/1) a further six lengths back in third.

State Man was left unchanged at 6/1 with Sky Bet for the 2024 Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham.

Townend said: “He has been beating these horses all year and, thankfully, he was able to do it again today. As I said when I made it in Leopardstown, I thought he would be better with a lead and probably a bit the same there.

“He just looks to be the best of that bunch – he just ran into a superstar in Cheltenham.”

Mullins said: “Paul said if nothing was going on he’d make his own running and keep it simple. He just missed the last, but Paul said with where he would have had to stand off he just let him fiddle it instead. That’s what you want in a hurdler when they are too far back, to go in and fiddle it.

“He’s done enough for the season. We’ll freshen him up now and get him back to do the same things next season, I hope. I can’t really see him going over fences, I’d say he’ll be a hurdle horse. I don’t know whether I need to go out in trip with him. He’s a horse that still has improvement in him.”

On his run at Cheltenham, the Closutton trainer said: “Constitution Hill was just brilliant so we were happy to be second and he’s going to be hard to beat.”

When it was put to him about the change of tactics today, he added: “I’m not sure we wanted to make the running for Constitution Hill at Cheltenham. If we did that and got beaten we would have said we should have done something different.

“We did what we did and I was happy. Maybe if the opportunity happens next time we might do that. He’s well able to do it from the front and I think he’s relaxing a lot more now which is a big help.”

Impaire Et Passe eventually stamps his class

Impaire Et Passe ultimately powered to victory in the Alanna Homes Champion Novice Hurdle for Townend and Mullins.

The five-year-old ran well within himself and Townend rode the Cheltenham’s Ballymore winner with supreme poise.

Send off a 1/3 favourite against just four rivals, he sat third throughout much of the extended two miles and three furlongs of the Grade One contest.

Though Impaire Et Passe made a novicey mistake six out, which saw him with plenty of ground to make up, Townend appeared to ooze confidence as stablemate Champ Kiely and the Joseph O’Brien-trained High Definition set the pace.

There was still plenty to do approaching two out and for a very brief moment, High Definition and JJ Slevin looked set to cause a shock. But Townend had plenty up his sleeve and the Simon Munir and Isaac Souede-owned gelding soon cruised upsides and went to the front on the bridle after being given a reminder that this was not simply a piece of work.

Jumping clear at the last, he stormed home to record a seven-and-a-half length success, with High Definition hanging on for second, despite stumbling when hitting the running rail after jumping the last.

Mullins was far from happy with the performance, however.

He said: “He didn’t impress me at all, I was delighted he won, but throughout the race he wasn’t impressing me.

“He looked like he wasn’t enjoying it and maybe Cheltenham took much more out of him than we thought. At home he was on fire and maybe I did too much with him, because he was going so well.

“It’s hard to say something went wrong when you win by seven and-a half lengths. Maybe he loves the hill in Cheltenham, he just got going up the hill, whereas today is a flat track. I’ll have a quick chat with Paul later on and see what he thought.

“Turning for home, I wouldn’t have backed him, so to win after that just means that he has a huge engine, but he wasn’t really in love with what he was doing today, whether it was the ground or what I don’t know. I think we’ll freshen him up now. I was thinking maybe of going to France but I won’t, I think I’ll just put him away."

Townend echoed the sentiments, hinting his charge needed waking up.

He said: “It was not as straightforward as I was hoping. Maybe it was just because I was left on my own. I think everyone could see that I was never really happy throughout the race.

“When I got upsides them, he came on the bridle for me and his class shone through then.”

He added: “He’ll have no problem jumping a fence, but I’d say it will depend on what the horse across the water (Constitution Hill) is doing as well!"

Anthony Bromley, racing representative of owners Isaac Souede and Simon Munir and the man who purchases most of their horses, intimated that while the five-year-old has the size to be a chaser, the move to larger obstacles might be put on hold while the education process continues.

"He was quite switched off in the race and Paul had to wind him up a little bit turning but he picked up," noted Bromley.

"To be fair, some of his races haven’t always been impressive. In the Moscow Flyer (at Punchestown), he wasn’t ‘wow,’ and that’s why they went up in trip. He just needs to be woken up. I think there’s so much talent under the bonnet and I think he’s still a work in progress. He’s a big frame of a horse. He only had one bumper run last year and that’s his fourth hurdle run. I think the plan might be to stay hurdling and learn a bit more. But, the great Willie will tell us. In Willie we trust!

"You worry turning in slightly, you have a little moment, and suddenly by the line it’s clear and he’s winning easing down. He’s got great potential."

The Double Green team had already enjoyed Grade 1 success with El Fabiolo on Thursday, the pair having also garnered elite success at Cheltenham, and Bromley was smiling broadly as he contemplated not just what has been a tremendous season, but the possibilities of what the future might fold.

"There’s a lot of nice youngsters at Willie’s and it’s so exciting. Isaac and Simon get a lot of fun from it. They love the Dublin Racing Festival, they love Cheltenham but Punchestown has really worked and they’ve been here all week, and to get two nice big winners – proper big winners – and horses that look like they might be superstars, is brilliant. And that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?

"They put a lot into it. They’ve got a lot of horses and we’ve kissed a lot of frogs. But these two are exciting."

Impervious cruises to victory

Colm Murphy’s top-class mare Impervious sauntered to success in the Hanlon Concrete Irish EBF Glencarraig Lady Francis Flood Mares Chase to remain unbeaten over fences.

The seven-year-old had taken her winning spree to four in the Mares’ Chase at the Cheltenham Festival and her fifth victory could not have been any easier.

Tracking long-time leader Instit – one of three Willie Mullins-trained runners in the field of six – Brian Hayes’ mount cruised upsides three out when the leader blundered and quickly put daylight between herself and her toiling rivals.

Foot-perfect throughout the two miles and five furlongs of the Grade Two contest, the 8/11 favourite was eased to an 11-length triumph, with Instit holding off stablemate Allegorie De Vassy to claim second.

Murphy said: “She’s been an absolute revelation and it’s amazing how much she has improved from run to run. She’s stronger now than she was on any day during the year. She has loads of options and we can dream away for the summer. She can go up or down in trip, it doesn’t matter to her. She’s just a proper one.

“I’m sure JP(McManus) and Frank (Berry) will have a plan for her and she’ll slot in with the rest of theirs. We’re more than happy to go along with that. She seems to be settling better, she’s not as hard on herself and she’s making life easier for everyone.

“Every year when you come back here after Cheltenham you are afraid of what mark Cheltenham has left on them. On the evidence there she seems to be getting better. Hopefully she’ll keep improving, she’s learning a lot and settled better today.”

Mullins goes in for the Kil...

Kilcruit appreciated the drop from Grade 1 level to run his rivals ragged from the front in the EMS Copiers Novice Handicap Chase.

Paul Townend got the 11/4 market leader jumping in a nice rhythm at the head of affairs from the outset and while main market rival Life In The Park (18/5) briefly looked a threat as Kilcruit blundered his way through the second-last fence, Life In The Park made a shuddering error at the same obstacle to end all chance he had of success.

Kilcruit quickly regathered momentum and continued to pour it on after a fine leap at the last to win going away by 15 lengths from the running-on Jody Red (28/1). Life In The Park ended up third, with 11/2 chance Grandero Bello back in fourth.

The opening Stanley Asphalt Hunters Chase For The Bishopscourt Cup went to 25/1 shot Fr Gilligansvoyge under jockey Pat Taffe for trainer John Carr.

Elsewhere, Monbeg Park won the SalesSense International Novice Hurdle at odds of 15/8, seeing off 16/1 chance Spillane's Tower by two and a half lengths, with Uncle Phil back in third.

In the Irish Daily Star Champion Hunters Chase, it was Emmet Mullins who got on the board for the second time this week as Its On The Line (6/1) and Derek O’Connor held off last year’s runner-up Vaucelet by a length. The concluding Avison Young Flat Race went the way of Walk Away Harry (11/1) who came from a long way back to beat Irish Panther and give trainer Charles Byrnes back-to-back wins in the race.

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