Flooring Porter keeps options available for future prospectsORFlooring Porter stays flexible with various possibilities ahead

Flooring Porter’s Uncertain Path: Cheltenham Festival or Stayers’ Hurdle?

Flooring Porter, the dominant force in recent Stayers’ Hurdle editions, is now facing a crossroads as his future career path remains uncertain. Having claimed victory in both the 2021 and 2022 editions of the prestigious race, he fell just short of securing a hat-trick last season with an honorable fourth-place finish.

This season saw Gavin Cromwell’s stable star switch his attention to fences and make an impressive debut at Cheltenham back in October. However, subsequent races revealed some weaknesses as he finished third in the Grade Two Florida Pearl Novice Chase at Punchestown.

Hopes were high that a return to a left-handed track for the Neville Hotels Novice Chase at Leopardstown would provide better results. Unfortunately for Flooring Porter and connections, they had to settle for minor honors once again behind Grangeclare West.

Cromwell admitted: “He jumped really well without any excuses. The winner was simply exceptional on the day, leaving us fair and square behind them. While he showed good form over fences initially, it seems that competing at such high levels might pose challenges.”

The County Meath handler isn’t ruling out a potential novice chase entry for Flooring Porter at this year’s Cheltenham Festival but confirmed that going back to hurdling is also being considered:

“It’s hard to determine our next move. I will enter him in the Stayers’ Hurdle, but whether he ultimately participates in that race or goes straight to Cheltenham is still up in the air.”

Another promising contender from Cromwell’s yard is My Mate Mozzie, who secured a runner-up spot behind Found A Fifty in the Racing Post Novice Chase at Leopardstown over the festive period.

Although pleased with his horse’s performance, Cromwell questions the strength of the form due to the disappointing display from hot favorite Facile Vega:

“My Mate Mozzie finished strongly, but it could be argued that he benefited from Facile Vega’s struggles. Additionally, Sharjah hasn’t been performing well lately either. Nevertheless, it was a positive outcome for us being second in a Grade One race.”

Cromwell added: “As for our future plans with My Mate Mozzie, one possibility we are considering is entering him into the Grand Annual at this year’s Festival.”