Lossiemouth proves all class in Mares' Hurdle defence

We don't know what might have been, but Lossiemouth ultimately vindicated the switch from a Unibet Champion Hurdle tilt to a Close Brothers Mares' Hurdle defence in bloodless style with a fine success in the Cheltenham Festival Grade One contest.

The fashion of this triumph  - her third Cheltenham Festival victory and a fourth win from four visits to Prestbury Park - will certainly lend to some speculation though as Lossiemouth lobbed behind the front-running Jade De Grugy for much of the journey before being angled out by rider Paul Townend at the top of the straight and from there it looked game over as the winner powered on and sauntered home by 7 ½ lengths, with 22-1 chance Take No Chances finishing 9 lengths behind the winner in third.

Rich Ricci - along with wife Susannah - was celebrating a 23rd Cheltenham Festival winner and told Lydia Hislop: "We campaigned her as a Champion Hurdle horse - she won first time out, Christmas was disappointing and we didn't really learn what we hoped, and at the DRF we hoped to learn something different and she had that terrible fall. 

"I asked Paul [Townend] - who in fairness doesn't get involved in this kind of thing - has she given you any reason to get off State Man? And he said no, so the logical choice then was to go this way.

"This is still a Grade One, it's our 100th Grade One with Willie, and she's only six - let's see what happens next year. But it just wasn't the most untroubled passage and I think we made the right decision." 

Trainer Willie Mullins was relieved things worked out for his star mare after a campaign in which Lossiemouth was trained to lie up with the pace over the Champion Hurdle trip.

"Because we'd been - for want of a better word - 'gunning' her up to go the pace over two miles, we were a little worried coming here over two and a half that she was going to be too free," the champion trainer told Lydia Hislop. 

"I'm delighted the race worked out so well for her.

"When Paul [Townend] got off her after her last bit of work and said that he'd ride State Man, that was the decision really. 

"Rich's team this week isn't as strong as it normally would be - Gaelic Warrior is not in good form -  and I thought right, this is the one live chance he has of a winner. 

"When you have big owners with lots of investment in the sport, it's important that they come here and have a winner. 

"I think the right decision was made - it might not be popular and it was disappointing for us too - but Paul was adamant that State Man would be his ride and that was it.

Asked if Lossiemouth will ever run in a Champion Hurdle, Mullins added: "We might go to Liverpool, we might go to Punchestown, we'll see. But she will run in races against the Champion Hurdle horses I imagine in the future."