Outsider triumphs on day one of Cheltenham festivalConstitution Hill and State Man both fall independently
Amid falling crowds, increasing numbers of odds-on shots and a relentless stream of winners from the Willie Mullins yard, it has been a popular theory in recent years that the Cheltenham festival was becoming a little too … predictable. But it was debunked in the space of four chaotic minutes of extraordinary drama on Tuesday, as Jeremy Scott’s mare Golden Ace, at 25-1, emerged as one of the most unexpected of all Champion Hurdle winners, at the end of a race in which both Constitution Hill and State Man, the champions in 2023 and 2024 respectively, were fallers.
A much-anticipated renewal of hurdling’s championship event, with Constitution Hill’s 10-race unbeaten record on the line as he attempted to seize back his crown, followed a predictable script to the fifth flight, with Constitution Hill, the odds-on favourite, settled in third behind his main market rival, Brighterdaysahead.
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