The 2025 Champion Hurdle will go down as being one of the most dramatic we’ve ever seen. I was expecting to talk about this race straight after, either declaring Constitution Hill as being ‘back’, talking about Brighterdaysahead as the newcomer that’s shot to fame, or even talking about State Man winning back to back races.
Never did I expect to write about Golden Ace winning the race!
But that’s horse racing, as the saying goes, and while it wasn’t the result we wanted from a quality point of view, a massive well done to connections of Golden Ace, who came here because you gotta be in it to win it, and they were in it.
A penny for Willie Mullins and Rich Ricci’s thoughts as the Champion Hurdle finished, they saw star mare Lossiemouth win the Mares’ Hurdle in style 40 minutes before, she would surely have gone very close to winning the big one here.
Two Costly Falls and a Bubble Burst
The drama in the race will be the big talking point, bigger than talking about the winner, so let’s start with Constitution Hill.
I thought he was going nicely, if a little over keen at his jumps, he definitely over jumped a few, and wasn’t as economical as we’ve seen before, when he’s been at his best. He was as good as when winning at Kempton though, in my opinion, until he fell.
Unless State Man has taken the biggest of all steps forward (which I don’t think he has) you’d surely have fancied a 90% fit Constitution Hill to win, had he stayed on his feet and gone through the race, I get the feeling that connections also feel the same.
Next up, Brighterdaysahead. Talked about as being the next superstar mare before this, well I think her bubble has well and truly burst. She’s been to Cheltenham twice now, and ran well below her best, she could just be a horse that doesn’t like travelling over and will be seen at her best when kept in Ireland.
She was the one, from a fans perspective, you wanted to see do well today, so we’d got a genuine challenger to Constitution Hill, but she hasn’t done.
And final we have State Man. Clear at the last and going away to win the race after travelling smoothly into it to pass Brighterdaysahead at the bottom of the hill. However, he jumped the last and just couldn’t get his feet out in time to land, a disappointing moment for Team Mullins.
He was running a good race, but I have to question the level of form in it, with Brigherdaysahead massively underperforming, and Golden Ace being so close at the time of his fall. The cheek pieces definitely kept him interested, a great move, and while he was going well and coming away to win, I still don’t think he’s ran to his best today.
A Win for Those Who Dare
But the win goes to Golden Ace, the one there to pick up the pieces. Being ridden to get third, he was good enough to go two better than that. A fortunate winner? You bet, but fair play to connection for being there.
In a time when we spend way too much time talking about runners that avoid each other or go for lesser targets if they’re not in the best of form, see Lossiemouth today as the prime example, this is a win for those who dare to dream, and go for it.