State Man romps home at Punchestown as Constitution Hill flops again
State Man secured his third straight victory in Champion Hurdle while Nicky Henderson said it was ‘a tough place to be’ after another poor showing by Constitution HillState Man, who was denied a repeat success in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham in March when he fell at the final flight, gained a measure of compensation on Friday evening as he recorded a third successive win in Punchestown’s equivalent of the two-mile championship event. His task, though, was certainly made easier by a bitterly disappointing performance from Constitution Hill, the 2023 Champion Hurdle winner and odds-on favourite here, who beat only one of his five opponents home.The race was billed as a rematch of the last meeting between Constitution Hill, State Man and Golden Ace in the Champion Hurdle, which proved to be one of the most dramatic runnings of a championship event in living memory. Constitution Hill, unbeaten in 10 starts and odds-on there as well, fell midway through the race while State Man crashed out with the race at his mercy, leaving Jeremy Scott’s outsider, Golden Ace, to take the spoils. Continue reading...
State Man secured his third straight victory in Champion Hurdle while Nicky Henderson said it was ‘a tough place to be’ after another poor showing by Constitution Hill
State Man, who was denied a repeat success in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham in March when he fell at the final flight, gained a measure of compensation on Friday evening as he recorded a third successive win in Punchestown’s equivalent of the two-mile championship event. His task, though, was certainly made easier by a bitterly disappointing performance from Constitution Hill, the 2023 Champion Hurdle winner and odds-on favourite here, who beat only one of his five opponents home.
The race was billed as a rematch of the last meeting between Constitution Hill, State Man and Golden Ace in the Champion Hurdle, which proved to be one of the most dramatic runnings of a championship event in living memory. Constitution Hill, unbeaten in 10 starts and odds-on there as well, fell midway through the race while State Man crashed out with the race at his mercy, leaving Jeremy Scott’s outsider, Golden Ace, to take the spoils. Continue reading...
