Punchestown Champion Hurdle tips: State Man the one to beat, Zanahiyr could surprise
- Tipstrr writer
- 28 April 2023
The Tipstrr team have run the numbers ahead of the Paddy Power Champion Hurdle, and unsurprisingly it appears that the best value bet might lie in seeing who will finish runner-up behind State Man.
17:25 Paddy Power Champion Hurdle
The absence of Constitution Hill for this high-class renewal should provide a different kind of race, with so many of his beaten rivals now with renewed realistic hope of landing a major prize, and the outcome no longer a foregone conclusion.
State Man will go off as a red-hot odds-on favourite, but it's unlikely his price will reach the prohibitive lengths of last year's winner, Honeysuckle, who was sent off as 1/5 favourite and promptly won with three lengths to spare with the likes of Echoes In Rain, Saint Roi and Teahupoo in her wake.
Coincidentally, in the race that followed that one, State Man eased to his own seven-length win as the 11/10 favourite in the Champion Novice Hurdle, and after three wins this season he was best of the rest behind the imperious Constitution Hill in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham.
After Wednesday's shock defeat of Galopin Des Champs, nothing can be taken for granted, but it would appear that State Man should win with plenty in hand here.
Suggested bet: State Man in the 17:25 at Punchestown
Even if State Man does cruise to victory as expected, his short price enhances the value of whoever finishes second, with the runner-up spot looking very much up for grabs between his five proven rivals, including Zanahiyr, Vauban and Pied Piper.
Zanahiyr was just four lengths further adrift of State Man at Cheltenham, and would not seem to have too much to do to make up that difference.
He also finished third (behind victorious Constitution Hill again) in the Aintree Hurdle 15 days ago, this time just half a length behind runner-up Sharjah, who also lines up here at Punchestown.
Zanahiyr certainly seems to be worthy of better support than his current outsider price suggests, and he could well nudge his way into frame contention here.
Each-way punt:
Zanahiyr in the 17:25 at Punchestown
