Top Irish trainer Willie Mullins has assembled another strong team ahead of the upcoming 2025 Cheltenham Festival in March.
Mullins has saddled 103 winners at the National Hunt showpiece and looks guaranteed to add several more to his tally next month.
A quick look at the latest Cheltenham odds highlights that Mullins has fancied runners in most of the races, reflecting the dominant status he enjoys in horse racing.
The Champion Hurdle and Cheltenham Gold Cup are at the top of Mullins’ targets this year having trained the winner of each race in 2024.
State Man took advantage of Constitution Hill’s absence last year to win the Champion Hurdle and is on course to defend the title this time around.
However, with Nicky Henderson’s unbeaten superstar on course to run next month, State Man will need to improve if he is to retain his crown.
Constitution Hill beat State Man by nine lengths in the 2023 Champion Hurdle, but a series of niggling issues have limited him to just four starts since then.
He has looked imperious in victories at Kempton and Cheltenham this season and will be tough to beat if he produces his best form in March.
State Man won the Irish Champion Hurdle on his most recent outing, taking advantage of a crashing fall by stablemate Lossiemouth to record an easy victory.
Mullins has confirmed the mare has suffered no ill-effects from the fall and remains firmly on track to take her chance in the Champion Hurdle.
“At the moment, we’re going for the Champion with Lossiemouth – we’re not steering away from it,” Mullins said. “we’ve been training her for it for two years.
“When asked if he had a plan to beat Constitution Hill, he replied: “I made a plan when Constitution Hill beat him the first year and I still have it in my head – and that is where it is staying!”
Mullins is also aiming to join an exclusive list on the final day of the meeting when Galopin Des Champs attempts to win the Gold Cup for the third successive year.
Best Mate (2002-2004) is the only horse to achieve the feat since the turn of the century. The legendary Arkle completed a three-peat in 1966, highlighting the size of the task Mullins’ horse faces.
The nine-year-old demonstrated his wellbeing on his most recent outing, putting a high-class field in the shade to win the Irish Gold Cup at the Dublin Racing Festival.
Mullins could not hide his admiration for the horse after the race and believes he has every chance of etching his name into racing folklore by completing the treble.
The Closutton-based trainer came up short in 2022 when two-time winner Al Boum Photo trailed home sixth of elven runners behind A Plus Tard.
Mullins thinks Galopin Des Champs will head to Cheltenham with every chance of going one better than his talented stablemate.
“To be associated with a horse like this, it’s a huge honour to be involved,” said Mullins. “We’re all delighted and we hope the dream stays alive.
“We’ve more a chance going in here and it would be a once-in-a-lifetime job. Al Boum Photo wasn’t favourite – he didn’t inspire as much confidence.
“Galopin would look a better chance and he is a tremendous horse. He has his own piece of history already, but hopefully there’ll be more to come.”
