State Man: Profile, Record, Age & Best Races

State Man put punters on notice with his brilliant Irish Champion Hurdle win at Leopardstown and all roads look likely to lead to Cheltenham and his defence of the British equivalent on 11th March.

His six-and-a-half-length win over stablemate Daddy Long Legs was his third victory in a row in the race, emulating Istabraq, Hurricane Fly and Honeysuckle, but there was frustration for fans as another Willie Mullins horse, Lossiemouth, fell midway through the contest.

The pair are set to resume hostilities at Prestbury Park, where State Man will look to upset the returning 2023 Champion Hurdle winner, Constitution Hill.

Name: State Man

Age: 8

Weight: 11-12

Trainer: Willie Mullins

Winnings: £1,259,964

Cheltenham Festival wins: 2

State Man race stats

Runs	1st	2nd	3rd
18	13	3	1

State Man Age

State Man is an eight-year-old gelding, having made his debut in France as a three-year-old in 2020.

State Man Weight

State Man carried a weight of 11-12 in retaining his Irish Champion Hurdle crown for a third year.

That was the same as he held in winning the 2024 renewal of that race but he was reduced to 11-10 for his Cheltenham win where he outlasted Gordon Elliott's Irish Point and he is expected to return to that penalty for March's defence.

State Man Record

State Man's 2025 Irish Champion Hurdle success was his 13th in 18 career runs.

After finishing second to Busselton in the Prix Wild Monarch, a Listed three-year-old hurdle at Auteuil in France, for Daniela Mele, State Man fell on his Irish debut in December 2021.

But from there he proved to be almost faultless, winning all but one of his subsequent 12 races for Mullins, the exception being his defeat to Constitution Hill in the 2023 Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.

State Man's latest Leopardstown win has furthered his claims of being the best two-mile hurdler in Ireland, winning 10 Grade 1 races there and almost all in dominant fashion.

His 2024 Champion Hurdle win is the only one of his Grade 1 victories to have come in England and he followed it up by taking out last May's Punchestown Champion Hurdle.

The eight-year-old returned for this season with a defeat to Brighterdaysahead in November's Morgiana Hurdle and was third to the same rival in December.

The pair will return together at Cheltenham but despite the cloud hanging over his victory, State Man's supporters will be more confident after seeing him set the standard at Leopardstown.

State Man Next Race

All being well, State Man will be lining up with Paul Townend on his back for his Champion Hurdle defence on 11th March.

In a classy field, the returning Constitution Hill is the favourite ahead of Lossiemouth and State Man, with Brighterdaysahead also fancied.

Mullins had said ahead of February's Irish Champion Hurdle that he wanted it to be a free ride between State Man and Lossiemouth and if the latter recovers as expected from her fall, Townend and Danny Mullins could be among those battling it out up the hill in a thrilling finale.

State Man Owner and Cost

State Man is owned by Joe and Marie Donnelly, with the latter being the name shown on his record (as Mrs J Donnelly).

State Man Trainer

State Man is trained by 17-time Irish National Hunt champion trainer Willie Mullins at his Closutton stables.

Mullins began training back in 1988 and has gone on to become one of the all-time greatest and most-respected figures in his field.

Few trainers can match the achievements of the 68-year-old, who became the first trainer to saddle 100 winners at the Cheltenham Festival when his son, Patrick, rode Jasmin De Vaux to victory in the 2024 Champion Bumper.

Mullins now stands on 103 winners at jump racing's biggest meeting following a treble on the final day of the 2024 festival, which included a second successive win in the Gold Cup for his superb stayer Galopin Des Champs.

State Man Official Rating

State Man was allotted a hurdles rating of 169 by the BHA handicap following his success in the 2024 Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham.

He has risen from a mark of 141 when winning the County Hurdle at the meeting in 2022 on just his third start for Willie Mullins.

Those two defeats to Brighterdaysahead saw him slip to 168 and that's the official rating he looks set to carry into the Festival.

State Man Prize Money

With such a glittering CV already, it is no surprise that State Man has been extremely lucrative for his connections.

His Champion Hurdle victory took the eight-year-old gelding's earnings past the £1 million mark and his subsequent successes have seen his career total prize money rise to £1,401,506.

State Man News

Another fine season has put State Man in the frame for another Champion Hurdle tilt but this year's field looks stronger than the one he beat in 2024.

Lossiemouth's fall at Leopardstown left Mullins downbeat, as it robbed State Man of the chance to show how good he is and the Closutton supremo suggested he was still in the dark about the gelding's true condition.

He did, though, confirm that Townend will retain the ride and has "never wavered" when it comes to choosing the eight-year-old.