Paul Townend may have to ditch one – who would you choose State Man or Lossiemouth?

DITCH State Man for Lossiemouth? What would you do if you are Paul Townend.

If all goes well with Willie Mullins’ star hurdlers until March, Townend has some decision to make.

At face value right now it’s simple. Lossiemouth has hacked up over the weekend in the Hatton’s Grace and is a short-priced favourite – top-priced at 2-1- for the Champion Hurdle.

State Man got stuffed by Brighterdaysahead in the Morgiana and is now a 9-2 shot.

However, it’s not quite as simple as it might seem.

Let’s starts with State Man. Townend has ridden the gelding on fifteen of his sixteen starts Under Rules and he’s won on him on eleven occasions putting together over £1million in prize-money. That’s at least a nice wing on the Townend mansion.

State Man is also the defending Champion Hurdle hero, albeit some will say he’s not at his best at the Festival venue. It’s not easy to get off a Champion Hurdle victor.

In the history of the Champion Hurdle there aren’t many riders who have ditched the horse they steered to success in the ultimate hurdling prize.

Then we get to Lossiemouth.

Rich Ricci’s mare might just be the best equine female he has owned. And that’s saying something when you think about Annie Powers and Benie Des Dieux.

I love Lossiemouth. You adore Lossiemouth. We all think she could be out the ordinary.

That all said, the reaction to the Hatton’s Grace has been ridiculous.

The defeat of Stayers’ Hurdle winner Teahupoo off a crawl was nothing more than one would expect, and while getting the better of the latter by nearly 4l was impressive and easy, getting 7lb you would expect nothing else.

Just over five lengths behind Teahupoo (rated 164) was Beacon Edge, who has a current mark of 144. That suggests firstly the gallop was no good for Teahupoo, and secondly Lossiemouth merely performed to the level one would anticipate.

What, of course, gets us all excited about Lossiemouth is the way she’s winning. She has a turn of speed.

My point, though, is that it still remains a huge decision for Townend to wave goodbye to State Man.

Luckily for Townend, there are many furlongs to be taken before To  Whatever the case, they still have a mountain to climb to get anywhere near the Constitution Hill that romped to Champion Hurdle success in 2023.

And there’s Sir Gino in the mix now as well. I’m sure chasing is his game, but he did look decent in the Fighting Fifth against lesser lights.

Constitution Hill holds the key to unlock the Champion Hurdle puzzle. But until we see him it’s hard to draw conclusions.

All we do know is that if Constitution Hill hacks all over State Man, Lossiemouth and Sir Gino in March the concept that he’s the best hurdler we have even seen is hard to deny.