Punchestown 25 November 2023 The Unibet Morgiana Hurdle State Man and Paul Townend win© Photo Healy Racing
Trainer Willie Mullins has been waiting patiently for Punchestown this weekend where we see him unleash his Grade 1 big guns at the meeting.
The Unibet Morgiana Hurdle trophy has travelled home with Mullins 12 times in the past 21 years and this year he saddles five of the eight runners.
State Man bids for his third consecutive win in the race but he must take on his sensational stablemate, Lossiemouth, as she starts out on her Champion Hurdle campaign.
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We look at the declared runners and their prices with LiveScore Bet:
Daddy Long Legs 16-1: a course and distance winner but finished well behind Brighterdayshead at Down Royal on his seasonal return when coming home in third. Will need to improve on that effort to get close to his stablemates.
No Looking Back 80-1: Oliver McKiernan’s Kingston Hill gelding is a Grade 2 winner at Limerick beating Brazil in a two-runner race. Has been left finding in Grade 1 company and is the current outsider of the field.
Sir Gerhard 28-1: finished fourth of four runners behind stablemate State Man in the Grade 1 Champion Hurdle at Punchestown when last seen in May. Finished last in the Stayers’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in March and is struggling at the top level.
Smooth Tom 50-1: unseated his rider at Down Royal when taking on Brighterdaysahead and Daddy Long Legs last time. Has finished ahead of Winter Fog in the past in a Grade 3 but needs to step up here.
State Man 4-5: a ten-time Grade 1 winner, this dependable and experienced seven-year-old is seeking a hat-trick in this contest for the Mullins yard. Five of his career wins have come at Punchestown and jockey Paul Townend, who has partnered him for the last two years, has opted to stay on board.
Winter Fog 28-1: well behind Daddy Long Legs at Tipperary last time in a Grade 3 back in October. Consistent but likely to find the favourites too hot in this contest.
Brighterdaysahead 4-1: A big burly mare with bags of potential. She made a winning seasonal debut in a Grade 3 at Down Royal and is a Grade 1 winner over hurdles. Trainer Gordon Elliott speaks highly of this mare and is of the opinion that she will come on plenty for her last outing.
Lossiemouth 9-4: an outstanding mare who is unbeaten on her last 5 starts and has bagged seven of her eight career starts. She is embarking on a Champion Hurdle campaign and she should give defending champion State Man a run for his money.
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