Unibet Morgiana Hurdle (In Memory Of Michael Rafferty @AnaglogsDaughtr)
Grade 1, Punchestown 14:05 €120,000 guaranteed, 4yo plus, 2m 40y, Class 1
Tweet Sunday 20th November 2022

1 State Man 4/9F
2 Sharjah 5/2
3 Saldier 25/1
4 ran NR: Teahupoo Distances: 4l, 3¾l, 11l
Time: 4m 4.70s (slow by 15.70s)

State Man wins the Unibet Morgiana Hurdle (In Memory Of Michael Rafferty - @AnaglogsDaughtr)

Season up and running with a Grade 1#ITVRacing | @punchestownrace pic.twitter.com/qOwzdf9DJR

— ITV Racing (@itvracing) November 20, 2022

State Man provided Willie Mullins with a 12th career Morgiana Hurdle win.

From six initial entries, Ireland’s champion trainer whittled his team down to three of the four runners for Sunday’s feature, the other being Noel Meade’s six-year-old Jesse Evans, and State Man proved up to the test as the odds-on market leader.

The chestnut County Hurdle hero, who went on to win the Alanna Homes Champion Novice Hurdle at this track on his final start last season, was ridden by Paul Townend on his toughest test to date, and readily overcame stablemate Sharjah, under the trainer’s son Patrick Mullins, to win by around five lengths.

Mullins' first Morgiana Hurdle winner came courtesy of Padashpan in 1993, since when the likes of Hurricane Fly and Faugheen have struck gold for the master of Closutton.

Unibet Morgiana Hurdle
€120,000 guaranteed, 4yo plus, 2m 40y, Class 1
4 ran
Going: Yielding

POS. DIST HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY SP
1     State Man 5 11-12 W P Mullins Paul Townend 4/9F
2 4 Sharjah 9 11-12 W P Mullins Mr P W Mullins 5/2
3 3¾ Saldier 8 11-12 W P Mullins Danny Mullins 25/1
4 11 Jesse Evans 6 11-12 Noel Meade B J Cooper 25/1
NR 5 Teahupoo 5 11-12 Gordon Elliott NON RUNNER