Aintree aim for Stayers’ Hurdle hero Flooring Porter

PA Sport Reporters
March 23, 2022 1:57 pm

French Champion Hurdle also on connections’ radar.

Dual Stayers’ Hurdle winner Flooring Porter will be heading to Aintree for his next outing, with the possibility of a crack at the French Champion Hurdle also mooted.

As Gavin Cromwell’s stable star prefers to go left-handed, Punchestown was never on his agenda so another trip to Britain is upcoming.

In the past Flooring Porter has been too keen to get on with the job, but he behaved impeccably in the Cotswolds.

Given a brilliant front-running ride by Danny Mullins for the second successive year, his two-and-three-quarter-length success sparked wild celebrations from his winning syndicate, which goes by the same name as the horse.

Danny Mullins was carried around the paddock by the winning owners (Steven Paston/PA)

“Flooring Porter is great, he’s had a canter and he is 100 per cent,” said Cromwell.

“He has really grown up – it is just maturity, but when you take him out of his familiar surroundings it can affect him, but he is a very intelligent horse at the back of it all.

“We got him over there good and early which was a big help. He was a little on his toes for the first couple of days, but then got settled into the place and the red hood was a big help at the start.

“He definitely won’t go to Punchestown as he won’t go right-handed, so we will go to Aintree and there is a possibility he will go to Auteuil (Grande Course de Haies d’Auteuil).”