Emphatic redemption for Townend on Al Boum Photo

FOR Paul Townend it had to be Al Boum Photo. He couldn’t win the Gold Cup at Cheltenham on any other horse. Not after what happened to them at Punchestown last April, when Townend inexplicably ducked out of the final fence, a grade one chase at Al Boum Photo’s mercy. That evening, he felt as low as a serpent’s belly; yesterday he was trembling with raw emotion as redemption arrived in the most emphatic fashion.

‘My body’s shaking, I swear to God,’ said Townend. ‘This is like no feeling I’ve ever had before. ‘After what happened (at Punchestown), I think I owed it to the horse, to Willie (Mullins) and to Mr Donnelly (owner).’ Riding what Mullins felt was his third string of four in the race, Townend and Al Boum Photo were the last Closutton pair in harness inside the first mile of another dramatic renewal. By then, Kemboy (fell), Bellshill (pulled up) and Invitation Only

(fell) were out of the race. So too was Definitily Red, who was taken out by Invitation Only’s exit. You’d have got decent odds on Al Boum Photo joining the casualties as he crashed out at Cheltenham last year in the RSA Chase, a race which cost Ruby Walsh a broken leg. But on this day, the alliance of horse and jockey was foot perfect. Heading out on the second circuit, Townend was close on

the heels of Native River, Might Bite and Clan Des Obeaux. With Presenting Percy held up at the back, already Al Boum Photo was the chief Irish flag-bearer. For Townend, the race was unfolding as he’d dare to hope. ‘I thought he had a chance coming in to the race, I genuinely did, if I could get him into a rhythm and give him room, and I did. ‘You go out in all these races, you build yourself up, you give yourself hope, but it doesn’t

always happen for you. ‘Everything happened for me, the fallers fell inside me, I was able to go around them. He was taking a breather when I needed him to. Everything fell right; it has to in a Gold Cup. It’s brilliant. I lost my mother (Jo) when I was young, I hope she’s looking down on me.’ It was Townend’s second Cheltenham Festival victory of the week, the 10th of his career. A perfect ten.