SUPER SUB!
Jockey Mullins leads Flooring Porter to victory after last-minute call-up
AL BOUM PHOTO can secure his place in Cheltenham Festival history and win the Wellchild Cheltenham Gold Cup Chase (3.05pm) for a third successive season.
Willie Mullins’ star can become the fifth hat-trick hero and the first since Best Mate at the start of the millennium to land the feature on the final day of the Festival for a third time.
Legendary five-time winner Golder Miller, Cottage Rake, Arkle and Best Mate are the previous treble stars of the Grade One blue riband of National Hunt racing.
Al Boum Photo can join them as Mullins appears to have the perfect formula to get the nine-year-old to peak on the right day.
This is potentially a better renewal than the past two years with the rejuvenated Champ, King George VI Chase hero Frodon, fellow Irish raiders A Plus Tard and Minella Indo and stable-mate Kemboy all potentially having good claims of upsetting the odds.
But, as he did last year, Al Boum Photo has had one prep run with another victory in the Grade Three Savill’s New Year’s Day Chase at Tramore. He will be perfectly tuned up for his date with destiny and having shown he thrives on the Gold Cup challenge, Al Boum Photo can make it three in a row.
Alan King’s TRITONIC can take the opener on the final day, the Grade One JCB Triumph Hurdle (1.20pm).
The four-year-old was a decent Flat performer, finishing second in a competitive handicap at Royal Ascot last year. Since the switch to hurdling, Tritonic is unbeaten in two starts and looked very impressive when winning the Grade One Adonis Hurdle at Kempton last month.
King always has some smart juveniles and has won this race twice with Penzance (2005) and Katchit (2007.
Tritonic looks more than capable of doing something similar and providing the Barbury Castle handler with a third win. His Flat pedigree, speed and slick hurdling look ideal for this two-mile contest.
Mullins and Dan Skelton have won the past six renewals of the Grade Three McCoy Contractors County Handicap Hurdle (1.55pm), with three wins each.
The Irish trainer has five entries, with Skelton just relying on Third Time Lucki. He should go close, but Mullins’
GANAPATHI has a similar profile to the stable’s winner 12 months ago, Saint Roi.
And he can give Mullins a sixth win in the County Hurdle on what could be a very profitable day for the Irish trainer.
Skelton’s LANGER DAN can land bookmakers Paddy Power’s £50,000 bonus with a second win in a week in the finale, the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle (4.50pm).
Having taken the Imperial Cup at Sandown in style last Saturday, he can follow up off a low weight and complete the lucrative double.
Denise Foster, who took over from the banned Gordon Elliott, has already been among the winners this week and should have another with TORYGRAPH in the Grade One Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle (Registered as The Spa Novices’ Hurdle) (2.30pm).
The six-year-old landed back-to-back wins at Fairyhouse and Thurles in December and January at around this three-mile trip.
He steps up into Grade One company for the first time, but looks the improving type to take that in his stride and bring up the hat-trick.
BOB AND CO can win the St James’s Place Festival Challenge Cup Open Hunters’ Chase (3.40pm). The 10-yearold won two Open Hunters’ Chases last season and after wind surgery in the summer, he brought up the hat-trick with another victory at Haydock Park over 2m 6f last month. Formerly trained in France, he looks like he can grab a fourth win in a row.
Mullins looks to hold all the aces with COLREEVY and Elimay heading four entries in the Grade Two Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase (Registered As The Liberthine Mares’ Chase) (4.15pm). Preference is just for the former to bring up a treble on the final day for most successful trainer in Cheltenham Festival history.
FLOORING Porter (12-1) floored his rivals to win the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle on the third day of the Festival.
Leading from start to finish, under Danny Mullins, the Gavin Cromwelltrained six-year-old ran out a dominant winner of the Grade One feature at Prestbury Park.
It was a first Cheltenham Festival win for jockey Mullins, who was only partnering Flooring Porter as regular rider Jonathan Moore had to miss the ride through injury.
Flooring Porter has gone from handicapper to Grade One star this season, adding the biggest staying prize to his Grade One Christmas Hurdle success at Leopardstown.
As in his homeland, he kept it simple, pouring on the pressure from the front.
No horse could get near him as he powered up the Cheltenham hill to beat Sire Du Berlais (5-1) by threeand-a-quarter lengths.
Emma Lavelle’s 2019 Stayers’ Hurdle hero Paisley Park, sent off the 9-4 favourite to regain his crown, could never get near the winner.
Under Aidan Coleman, he stayed on well to finish a length-and threequarters back in third. Beacon Edge (10-1) was a further half-a-length drift in fourth.
Flooring Porter’s usual rider Moore had been injured in a fall and had a race against time to make Cheltenham. He had got back in the saddle on his proposed big-race mount this week, but he declared himself unfit and told Cromwell to turn to Mullins.
The trainer praised Moore’s selflessness. Cromwell said: “It was a huge performance and a smashing ride. It was a big blow for Jonathan, he made the decision himself that he wouldn’t do the horse justice.
“He suggested Danny would be suited to the horse and it was all down to Jonny’s instructions.
“Hats off to Johnny, he’s so unselfish – he thought he wouldn’t do the horse justice, so I’m very grateful. He actually sat on him.”
Cromwell had had concerns there was no rail to keep Flooring Porter straight throughout the race as he has pulled left in some of his races.
But Flooring Porter had no issues and Cromwell said: “He ran straight and true today, bar going right at the last. Other than that he was grand.
“He won a Grade B handicap at Navan when it wasn’t the plan to make the running. He decided on his tactics so we went along with it.
“We won the Champion Hurdle a few years ago, so to win another championship race is fantastic.
“The owners are a syndicate from Galway, they are a great bunch and it’s an awful pity they can’t be here.
“Everybody knows how hard it is to get a good horse. We came across this lad by accident, he was a very cheap store so it’s a bit of a fairytale really – it just goes to show dreams can still happen.”
Mullins was delighted to have finally landed a big winner at the Festival, and thanked Moore, who was alongside him after the race. He said: “He gave me every bit of information he had about the horse and I had a simple job.”