State Man will bid to put the seal on a faultless campaign in the Boodles Champion Hurdle at Punchestown on Friday.
The seven-year-old has been pretty much blemish free since falling on his debut for Willie Mullins two and a half years ago, with the mighty Constitution Hill the only horse to deny him victory in 12 subsequent appearances.
This season State Man has successfully defended the Morgiana Hurdle, the Matheson Hurdle and the Irish Champion Hurdle, while the disappointing absence of Constitution Hill at the Cheltenham Festival gave him a gilt-edged opportunity to claim Champion Hurdle glory in March and he duly obliged.
Faced with just three rivals, the chestnut will be long odds-on to make it back-to-back wins in the Punchestown version and the Closutton handler has nothing but admiration for a horse you can seemingly set your clock by.
"He's in great shape and he’s just a really healthy horse," said Mullins.
"He turns up every day and having a horse like that is wonderful for the owners as you arrive at every festival you want, you’re there on the big days and hopefully you’re good enough to win and he has been very good.
"He’s got his Champion Hurdle and he is the kind of horse you want. It’s lovely having a superstar, but sometimes a superstar can only come out one day of the year and owners have horses to have days out and to enjoy the social side of racing."
State Man renews rivalry with Gordon Elliott’s Champion Hurdle runner-up Irish Point, as well as the fifth-placed Colonel Mustard from Lorna Fowler’s yard.
Fowler is realistic about the chances of her stable star, but is keen to roll the dice.
She said: "Cheltenham took a lot out of him and he needed every bit of that time since to recover. We thought of bringing him to Aintree and Ayr, but he just wouldn’t have been ready. I think he’s got the tank full again having had the time.
"We know what we’re up against, but we’ll do our best and it’s as simple as that. It’s a pleasure to have a horse run in that calibre of race and he does bring it to the table every time.
"And the other thing is, it is a horse race. There are jumps involved. I know what price we are and we’re right to be that price but anything can happen, and if you’re not in, you can’t win."
The field is completed by Mullins’ second string Sir Gerhard, who is set to turn out just six days after finishing third in the Select Hurdle at Sandown.
Patrick Mullins, assistant to his father, said: "We’ve been really happy with State Man since Cheltenham. He’s obviously going to bid to follow up on last year’s victory and emulate Honeysuckle, who won the two editions before that.
"Irish Point gave us a bit of a fright in Cheltenham, so reopposing with him is going to be interesting, but we think that State Man can be better than he was in Cheltenham, although Irish Point might try different tactics. It promises to be a fascinating clash.
"Sir Gerhard didn’t have an awfully hard race when third in Sandown and there’s fantastic prize-money up for grabs."
Given that even Willie Mullins expressed his surprise with how easy Ballyburn won at Cheltenham, his appearance in the Alanna Homes Champion Novice Hurdle is hugely anticipated.
Despite having won at the Dublin Racing Festival from subsequent Supreme Novices' Hurdle winner Slade Steel by seven lengths, Mullins was refusing to get carried away by the Ballyburn hype.
However, his 13-length romp in the Gallagher Novices’ Hurdle forced Mullins to concede Ballyburn "could be anything" and he faces just five rivals, three of them stablemates.
His stable companions taking him on are Jimmy Du Seuil, second at Cheltenham to Ballyburn but only fourth at Aintree, Mirazur West, who missed Cheltenham and Aintree, and Predators Gold.
Patrick Mullins, assistant trainer to his father, said: "Willie has decided to keep Ballyburn at the intermediate distance.
"He won at the Festival last year when he beat Dancing City and Slade Steel, two Grade One winners. That was quite a strong bumper, ironically, as it wasn’t the Champion Bumper!
"He should be very difficult to beat again. We’ve been delighted with him since Cheltenham and hopefully he can finish his season out on top.
"This season hasn’t been straightforward for Mirazur West and he seems to be slightly better going right-handed but at this distance he would need to settle a lot more effectively than he has been.
"Predators Gold was below-par in Cheltenham, but we do think he’s much better than that and he could be an interesting outsider. I would think he’s overpriced as an each-way option and he is a Festival winner already, as he won the Goffs Defender Bumper last year."
The field is completed by Gordon Elliott’s Staffordshire Knott, who chased home his stablemate Brighterdaysahead at Aintree and Jessica Harrington’s Jetara.
Joseph O’Brien’s Fred Winter winner Lark In The Mornin reappears in the Uniquely Novice Hurdle, while Brides Hill takes on Allegorie De Vassey in the Hanlon Concrete Irish EBF Glencarraig Lady Francis Flood Mares Chase.
In the Event Power Champion Hunters’ Chase, the Emmet Mullins-trained Its On The Line is out again having finished second at Cheltenham and won at Aintree.
The veteran Billaway, Ferns Lock, Samcro, Lifetime Ambition and Famous Clermont take him on.
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