Cheltenham Festival 2024 Statesman wins Champion Hurdle for Willie Mullins

State Man won the Champion Hurdle as trainer Willie Mullins moved closer to reaching 100 Cheltenham Festival wins.

The 2-5 favourite, ridden by Paul Townend, was runner-up last year but went one better in the absence of defending champion Constitution Hill.

It was a 96th Cheltenham Festival victory for Mullins, who would be the first person to reach the centenary and earlier won the Arkle Chase with Gaelic Warrior.

State Man saw off Irish Point in second, with Luccia third.

Nicky Henderson, who saddled Luccia, ruled Constitution Hill out of the race last week after a poor workout.

Mullins was asked after the race about how he felt State Man would have fared had Constitution Hill had been fit to compete.

“He’s probably a better horse around Leopardstown, but he’s a Champion Hurdle winner,” said Mullins.

“You’ve got to turn up to win a Champion Hurdle – we turned up.

“He probably doesn’t produce his best at Cheltenham and of course we were aware when Constitution Hill came out that the expectation grew, but he’s a very good horse and he deserves this.

“I’d imagine Nicky will get Constitution Hill back and we can have another crack next year. Any day you get a winner here is good.”

Blackmore claims opening win Cheltenham Festival
Rachael Blackmore won the opening Supreme Novices’ Hurdle on 7-2 chance Slade Steel for trainer Henry de Bromhead.

It was a 15th Cheltenham Festival triumph for Blackmore, 34, who became the first woman to be leading jockey at the meeting three years ago.

“I love this place and it’s amazing to be coming here and riding these kind of horses,” she said.

In gruelling rain-softened conditions, the race was run in a time of four minutes, 12.87 seconds – the slowest running of the contest this century.

The Mullins-trained Mystical Power was second as Irish-trained horses finished in the first five places, although his favorite Tully hill was back in eighth, having faded badly.

It was not long before the Irish trainer was on the scoreboard, with Gaelic Warrior running out an impressive winner of the Arkle Chase.

Townend was roared home on the 2-1 favourite, who triumphed by eight and a half lengths from Found A Fifty.

The first British-trained success of the 2024 meeting came courtesy of Chianti Classico in the Ultima Chase.

Ridden by David Bass, the 6-1 chance ground out victory for trainer Kim Bailey, who won the race 25 years earlier with Betty’s Boy.

Trainer ‘devastated’ over Highland Hunter Cheltenham Festival

There was sad news as Highland Hunter, who fell in the Ultima Chase, was fatally injured.

Trainer Fergal O’Brien said he was “absolutely devastated”.

Highland Hunter had been a favourite of point-to-point jockey Keagan Kirkby, who died in a fall during a race last month.

The grey horse had led the procession at the funeral of Kirby last week in the Somerset village of Ditch eat, near where the rider worked for champion trainer Paul Nicholls.