De Boinville fully aware of State Man’s threat to Constitution Hill

Nico de Boinville has full respect for his Unibet Champion Hurdle rivals, despite his mount Constitution Hill being set to go off one of the shortest-priced favourites of the whole week at the Cheltenham Festival.

A brilliant winner of the Supreme last March, Nicky Henderson’s new superstar has won the Fighting Fifth and Christmas Hurdles with ease this season.

And although dual Champion Hurdler Honeysuckle has been rerouted to the Mares’ Hurdle, the main threat will still come from Ireland in the shape of Willie Mullins’ State Man, unbeaten for new connections since falling on his Irish debut.

“So far, so good with him, as with all of them we are slowly bringing them to the boil. It’s an exciting time of year to be involved with a yard like Seven Barrows,” De Boinville told talkSPORT2.

“He’s honestly the most straightforward horse you could ever deal with, he’s got it all really. He’s so professional, he’s got a very good brain, so as a rider it’s a pleasure every time you ride him.”

De Boinville has partnered the likes of Gold Cup winner Coneygree, Altior and the magnificent Sprinter Sacre in his career, with Constitution Hill ranking firmly in their company.

“I never like to compare horses as they all have their own fantastic way of going about things, but he’s bang up there. He’s certainly the best hurdler I’ve ridden as all the exceptional horses I’ve ridden were good chasers. It’s fantastic to be going to a race like the Champion Hurdle with a really good chance,” he said.

“Anything can happen in a two-mile championship race. State Man has come through all his runs and was very impressive last time out. You can never take anything for granted and you have to respect the opposition

“I think one of the biggest changes is that Honeysuckle’s form has maybe slightly dipped and we’re not going to get the clash that was built up at the end of last season, but in State Man we’ve got a truly good rival. Hopefully it should kick off the Tuesday and get the Festival really under way.”