As Flooring Porter stormed to victory in the Stayers’ Hurdle, many horse racing fans had to pinch themselves to make sure they hadn’t gone back in time a year. Earlier in the day, Allaho had successfully defended the Ryanair Chase, making it a mirror image of how the two championship races ended this time last year.
It’s a difficult task for any horse to win the same Cheltenham showpiece race in two successive years, but it’s few were betting against Allaho in the build-up to this year’s Champion Chase. He had triumphed in the same race last year, and there weren’t many in the field seen as genuine contenders to overthrow the Willie Mullins-trained horse.
The only difference this time around was that Paul Townend was in the saddle rather than Rachael Blackmore. As Mullins’ number one jockey, Townend gets first dibs and having fruitlessly ridden Min for last year’s Ryanair Chase over Allaho, this time the Irishman was in the saddle of the champion, and he was able to guide the talented eight-year-old to a comfortable 14-length victory.
“It would make you wonder why I didn’t pick him last year wouldn’t it?” Townend said after the race. “He’s an animal to gallop and jump. He’s just really good. I got into a lovely rhythm on him again, it was straightforward. We took our time in learning about him but I think we’ve got there now. That’s what he likes doing, he’s built for it, look at the size of him. I’m delighted.”
Then came the second highlight of day three, the Stayers’ Hurdle, and whilst Gavin Cromwell-trained Flooring Porter had the advantage of winning in 2021, there were plenty of other contenders tipped to get the better of him.
Expert stayers Thyme Hill and Paisley Park were in the field, as well as the Nicky Henderson-trained Champ, who has experience of winning at Cheltenham before. The pre-race favourite was Klassical Dream, trained by Mullins, and with such a wide array of potential winners, it’s no wonder the horse racing betting online was so hard to call.
However, by the time the horses had jumped the last hurdle, it was clear Flooring Porter had the edge. Ridden expertly by jockey Danny Mullins, the seven-year-old pulled clear to consign Thyme Hill and Paisley Park to second and third respectively. Champ faded towards the end to finish fourth, whilst Klassical Dream put in a disappointing showing to finish only fifth. But this was all about the class of Flooring Porter.
“I know everything went perfectly to plan and he behaved himself at the start but he’s really grown up now,” said Cromwell. “He was foot-perfect everywhere and Danny was fantastic on him. He jumped the third-last, then stacked them up and filled the horse up. He made it look easy.
“I was worried he was going to get done for a turn of foot but he knew what he was doing and knew what he was sitting on.”
And so, history had repeated itself, but while it was the same horses finishing first in both the Ryanair Chase and Stayers’ Hurdle, it was a very different experience for the winners this time around. With the Prestbury Park stands packed to the rafters, the horses and their respective connections were able to enjoy the true experience of winning a big race at the Cheltenham Festival, and you can’t deny that both Allaho and Flooring Porter truly deserved their moments of glory.
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