Ruby Walsh: Flooring Porter fancied to maintain his spectacular rise through the ranks

Jonathan Moore renews his association with Gavin Cromwell’s stable star after missing the biggest day of Flooring Porter’s career at Cheltenham. Picture: Healy Racing

Having a leg in the Willie Mullins yard, it might not have been great to see Clan Des Obeaux beating Al Boum Photo in Wednesday’s Punchestown Gold Cup but, looking at the bigger picture, the result was good to encourage competition.

Sam Twiston-Davies gave him a wonderful ride, while Al Boum Photo didn’t jump the last three well enough and Clan Des Obeaux wore him out of it.

I thought Galopin Des Champs was very good in the three-mile novice hurdle, and that winner for Paul Townend, putting him six ahead in the title race, has made it very hard for Rachael Blackmore.

I was wrong about the Champion Bumper. I thought Sir Gerhard was the one, but Kilcruit was the horse this time. It was a massive winner for Derek O’Connor, and I don’t think there has ever been a finer amateur.

Patrick Mullins got another winner in the mares’ bumper, with Grangee, which pushed him two ahead of Jamie Codd. That’s not a sealed deal just yet, but it puts him in position A to be champion amateur once again.

Thursday’s Punchestown festival feature event, at 5.25pm, is the Ladbrokes Champion Stayers’ Hurdle and the horse who is likely to be crowned champion stayer is not one I saw coming last autumn.

When Flooring Porter went down by five lengths to Streets Of Doyen at Gowran Park on October 3 and someone proceeded to tell me that in his next three starts he would rise from an official rating of 136 to 164, win a valuable handicap by 12 lengths, a Grade 1 at Leopardstown, and the Stayers’ Hurdle at Cheltenham without a tap behind the saddle after making all the running, I might have laughed.

But more likely I would have just said to myself “that is some clown”. But that is what he has achieved, all as a five-year-old, only rising six on New Year’s Day.

The improvement Gavin Cromwell has found in this horse is quite incredible and has somehow been overlooked in the many brilliant training performances this year. The scary part for Thursday’s opposition, which is numerically strong, is that there is every chance Flooring Porter hasn’t yet reached the peak of his powers.

Jonathan Moore renews his association with Gavin Cromwell’s stable star after missing the biggest day of Flooring Porter’s career, at Cheltenham, when Danny Mullins stepped in. His front-running style removes any fears of how this event will unfold and, for the opposition, it will simply be a case of trying to keep up for as long as they can if they suspect Flooring Porter will burn them off.

So, from a value perspective, looking for something to be placed which will be finishing strongly having not tried to follow the favourite, might be the best approach. I can’t explain James De Berlais’ poor performance at Cheltenham, but I suspect Brian Hayes will be riding him from the back to achieve his best possible finishing position, so he could be the each-way value.

Seventy minutes later, Energumene will make his eagerly awaited reappearance on track after missing the Cheltenham Festival and he would be one the horses Paul Townend will have been banking on in his bid to regain his jockeys’ crown.

As we have seen this week, Willie Mullins dominates here but picking the right ones from a punter’s and a jockey’s point of view has never been easy, so from the entry stage Paul will have identified a few where the decision was easy for him - and this is one of those.

Flawless thus far in his novice season, going right-handed at Punchestown could make him even better and he simply needs to not have bad luck. Janidil and Captain Guinness will try to give him a race but both need to improve on all aspects of their performances this season, but you can never win if you don’t try.

The 7.05 is the Close Brothers Mares’ Novice Hurdle and Gauloise will bid to seal the deal for Paul after a very encouraging second to Skyace at Fairyhouse. But it won’t be straightforward for her as Magic Daze finished well clear of her at Cheltenham after running a remarkable race.

Henry De Bromhead’s filly raced with the choke out all of the way and only gave best to Telmesomethinggirl at the last hurdle but still managed to repel the rest. Her front-running style is much more fitting to Punchestown than Cheltenham’s new course so Rachael could bag this one. 

But it is outscoring and not just keeping tabs on Paul that she requires right now, and I feel she is running out of time or, in golfing terms, there are just not enough holes left to play.

Patrick Mullins has been pretty adamant since Dysart Dynamo won at Clonmel on March 23 that this was the one he wanted to ride in the bumper. Looking at the opposition, he won on Grand Jury for Henry De Bromhead at Punchestown yet never hesitated in siding with Dysart and will be hoping his conviction in his decision making is justified as he bids to hold off Jamie’s Codd’s challenge.