State Man and Brighterdaysahead could clash in the 2025 Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown on day two of the Dublin Racing Festival on Sunday 2nd February, as the pair feature among 12 horses entered for the Grade 1 prize.
Holding six of the 12 entries, Willie Mullins will be eager to see State Man return to the form that has seen him win this race for the last two years and a third victory in this would see him join the greats such as Istabraq, Hurricane Fly and Honeysuckle. However, the reigning Champion Hurdler has found it tough this season, as having been narrowly outbattled by Brighterdaysahead in the Morgiana Hurdle on his comeback run, he was then trounced by Gordon Elliott’s star mare again at Leopardstown over Christmas.
Irish Gold Cup Entries 2025 – Hat-Trick Seeking Galopin Des Champs Among 14 Hopefuls
14 entries have been made for the 2025 edition of the Irish Gold Cup at the Dublin Racing Festival on Saturday 1st February. The 3m contest is run at Leopardstown and has been won for the last two years at strong odds-on prices by Galopin Des Champs, who is unsurprisingly entered in an attempt for…
Thu 09 Jan 2025Now nine years old, State Man is looking to return to the top of the two-mile Irish hurdling division with victory in this contest and using this race as a springboard to the Cheltenham Festival and a crack at Constitution Hill and retaining his Champion Hurdle crown. However, this season’s foe in the shape of Brighterdaysahead is set to try and lower his colours once again.
Workmanlike at Down Royal on her comeback run, Brighterdaysahead then outstayed State Man when the pair first clashed in the Morgiana, but her performance at Leopardstown during the festive action was simply mind-blowing. Following stablemate King Of Kingsfield, the pair pulled well clear of the rest of the field – which included State Man – and then Brighterdaysahead duly pulled clear of her stablemate in to storm to a 30-length success. The Mares’ Hurdle at Cheltenham is still mooted as the spring target, but should she win here then she surely must head down the Champion Hurdle route.
Lossiemouth could be another shot fired by the Mullins gun for this contest and she will be looking to bounce back from a damning defeat in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton, where she bumped into an on-song Constitution Hill. The Closutton team have already said that the International Hurdle at Cheltenham the previous week is a likely option, but she will add huge depth to this contest, if she lines up.
Runner-up to Majborough in the Triumph Hurdle last season, Kargese could make her hotly-anticipated return to the track in this event, whilst another Champion Hurdle hope in the shape of the rapidly progressive Anzadam has also been given an entry by the Mullins, who could have a really strong team looking to secure a record-breaking ninth win in the race.
Fergal O’Brien’s Dysart Enos hasn’t set the world alight this season, but she could be an eye-catching runner for Britain, should she make the trip over, while the likes of Senecia and Colonel Mustard add more depth to what is one of the premier races on the Irish Jumps calendar.
2025 Irish Champion Hurdle Entries
| Number | Horse | Trainer |
| 1 | Anzadam | Willie Mullins |
| 2 | Colonel Mustard | Lorna Fowler |
| 3 | Daddy Long Legs | Willie Mullins |
| 4 | Fils D’Oudairies | Gordon Elliott |
| 5 | King Of Kingsfield | Gordon Elliott |
| 6 | Senecia | Vincent Halley |
| 7 | State Man | Willie Mullins |
| 8 | Winter Fog | Willie Mullins |
| 9 | Brighterdaysahead | Gordon Elliott |
| 10 | Dysart Enos | Fergal O’Brien |
| 11 | Kargese | Willie Mullins |
| 12 | Lossiemouth | Willie Mullins |
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