The Flooring Porter Syndicate with Gavin Cromwell and Danny Mullins at Cheltenham© Photo Healy Racing
Gavin Cromwell reports his star stayer Flooring Porter ‘looks brilliant’ ahead of a season that will be geared towards landing the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival for a third successive year.
The front-running Yeats gelding sparked wild scenes of celebration by his Galway-based syndicate members in the hallowed winners’ enclosure last March after again staying on strongly up the hill under Danny Mullins to beat Thyme Hill and Paisley Park.
“We’re happy with him. It takes plenty of work to get him fit and he came back in quite heavy this year, the best he ever came in. He looks brilliant and is still a young horse,” said Cromwell.
The Danestown trainer added, “I think he’ll follow a similar path to last year and start off in Navan (Lismullen Hurdle on November 13).
“Then there is Leopardstown at Christmas but it’s all about Cheltenham really.”
The seven-year-old gelding, beaten off a rating of 104 at Downpatrick just over three years ago, has not looked back since stepped up to three miles winning a total of seven races and well over €550,000 in prize money.
