State Man rises to occasion on another record-breaking day for Willie Mullins
Paul Townend celebrates on State Man with groom Rachel Robbins after winning the Boodles Champion Hurdle during day four of the Punchestown Festival. Photo: Seb Daly/Sportsfile
Willie Mullins etched his place further into racing folklore as Grade One victories for State Man (2/7 favourite) and Ballyburn (1/5 favourite) saw the Closutton maestro become the winning-most trainer in Irish history.
That saw Mullins (4,378 winners) edge past Dermot Weld, and the enormity of the achievement wasn’t lost on him in a season which also saw the 67-year-old crowned British champion jumps trainer for the first time.
“Dermot pioneered going down to Australia and won the Belmont Stakes, an American Triple Crown race. He’s done superb things, so to be mentioned alongside him is fantastic,” a beaming Mullins said of the feat.
Mullins also brought his record number of Grade One successes in a season to 37 as State Man completed a flawless campaign to add the Boodles Champion Hurdle to the Cheltenham equivalent and bag the 10th top-level success of his career in the process.
The seven-year-old just delivers to a ridiculously high level every day he takes to the track and it’s hardly any wonder that winning rider Paul Townend has such a “soft spot” for him.
“He’s a star, isn’t he? It’s so simple to ride this lad and that’s probably why I’ve got such a soft spot for him. You can leave the weigh room, get to the start and make it up as you go along and he’ll get you out of trouble,” he said.
“He isn’t flashy, he does what he has to do and probably that’s why he keeps winning because he keeps a little bit in the locker.”
Things got even better for Townend as Ballyburn “got down and dirty” before digging out victory in the Champion Novice Hurdle. The six-year-old didn’t have the same wow factor as his Cheltenham rout but it brought Townend within four winners of Jack Kennedy (123) in their jockeys’ title duel.
Kennedy must sit out today due to suspension while Townend will have to prevail on all five of his mounts to prevail, or four to tie, to keep his title.
“I love your optimism,” Townend said when told that the title race isn’t over yet. “I’ll keep trucking away and trying to bag Grade Ones and winners and what’ll be will be. We were actually slagging Danny [Mullins] yesterday.
“He swings championships. He won the two big races in Ayr and Sandown for Willie, and he swung it in Jack’s favour beating me on Gaelic Warrior.”
The rain didn’t dampen affairs on ladies’ day and one of the best finishes of the week came in the Champion Hunters’ Chase as Derek O’Connor conjured yet another exhilarating win out of Its On The Line (6/4 favourite).
O’Connor delivered Emmet Mullins’ charge just after the last to score, landing a famous Aintree/Punchestown double, while he also took the closing bumper on Martin Brassil’s Don’tstopthemusic (5/2).
Brides Hill (15/8) made it four victories in succession when running out a bloodless winner of the Grade Two Mares Chase under Seán Flanagan as Gavin Cromwell continued his career-best season with a 70th winner.
Eighteen trainers have won at the Kildare track this week thus far with Barry Connell (Hgranca De Thaix 16/1), Seán Doyle (Private Ryan 9/4) and Bill Durkan (Eagle Fang 22/1) also gladly taking their slice of the pie.
