Flooring Porter aiming to complete Cheltenham-Aintree double

Dual Stayers’ Hurdle hero meets Thyme Hill and Champ again.

Dual Stayers’ Hurdle hero Flooring Porter pays his first visit to Aintree for Saturday’s JRL Group Liverpool Hurdle.

Gavin Cromwell’s charge sparked scenes of wild celebration in the Cheltenham winner’s enclosure when successfully defending his Festival crown last month under an inspired ride from Danny Mullins.

He is turned out just over three weeks later in a bid to secure further Grade One honours on Merseyside, and Cromwell admits only time will tell whether his latest Cheltenham success has taken its toll.

“He arrived on Wednesday and seems to have settled in fine,” said the County Meath-based trainer.

“He seems in good form and good and fresh. I suppose it comes up fairly quick (after Cheltenham) and we won’t really know until we run, but we’re happy to give it a go.

“It’s a good race. Obviously we’re meeting a few of the same horses as we did in Cheltenham and it’s a different track on a different day.

“I think the track will be fine for him, so we’ll see how we go.”

Flooring Porter renews rivalry with three horses he beat at Cheltenham, including the runner-up Thyme Hill and fourth home Champ.

Champ leads the way in the Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot
Champ leads the way in the Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot (Nigel French/PA)

The latter was beaten four lengths in the Cotswolds and his trainer Nicky Henderson is optimistic he can bridge the gap.

He told Unibet: “I’m keen on Champ. I just got the impression on his last two runs that he didn’t seem to be enjoying himself as much as he did when he won the Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot.

“He’s had a couple of surgical procedures on his back, which is his big issue, so I think a flat track may be more suitable for him.

“We’ve done a bit of practice on the flat at home and I think he enjoys it. He’s working well and is happy in himself.”

David Christie’s Koshari was not beaten far into seventh place in the Stayers’ Hurdle and won at Aintree on his stable debut in November.

“We’d be hoping for a good run anyway,” said Christie.

“He obviously like the track and you’d be hoping he might be able to get a bit closer (to Flooring Porter) than he did in Cheltenham, where he blew up going to the last.

“He’s probably not good enough to beat the top one or two, but if he could get into third or fourth you’d be very happy.”

Jessica Harrington’s Ashdale Bob also brings Festival placed form to the table after finishing third in the Pertemps Final.

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