Al Boum Photo joins elite group with back-to-back Cheltenham Gold Cup success
There has been only one talking point at Cheltenham this week and it has not been the horses, but Al Boum Photo finally swung the conversation back to the four-legged heroes when he joined a very select band to have won consecutive Magners Gold Cups.
It might have been a bit closer than it was when he won his first 12 months ago but, in a tight finish, the 100-30 favourite battled all the way up the hill, first repelling Lostintranslation and then the late but relentless thrust of Santini by a neck.
Lostintranslation, who had come swinging into the straight upsides the winner and had been airborne in unison with him at the last fence, finished third, a further length and a quarter away, with Monalee, who kept the hope alive for a first female-ridden Gold Cup winner all the way up the run-in, a neck back in fourth.
It completed a remarkable turnaround in fortunes for Willie Mullins, whose first-day drought was now a flood. The Gold Cup was the fourth race of the day and his fourth winner (and then he had the second in the St James’s Place Foxhunters).
With not much pace and a closely rated field, Paul Townend, for whom the day had been equally redemptive, began to move Al Boum Photo into contention a mile out and was front rank controlling things from the top of the hill.
Three out, his biggest dangers appeared to be Lostintranslation, on whom Robbie Power was motionless, and Real Steel, Al Boum Photo’s 50-1 stable companion.
A few lengths behind, Presenting Percy still had each-way hopes when he turned over at the second last but it was Nicky Henderson’s Santini, who stayed on strongly wide of the winner, who posed the biggest threat inside the last 100 yards, although the winner was always doing enough.
Since the war, only Cottage Rake, Arkle, L’Escargot and Best Mate have won consecutive Gold Cups. Kauto Star’s brace were divided by Denman. Best Mate also won his first Gold Cup aged seven, as Al Boum Photo was last year, and the Joe Donnelly-owned chaser is only 6-1 to match Best Mate and the peerless Arkle next year.
“I thought it was winnable with a clear run,” Mullins reflected. “I didn’t think it was anything like last year’s race. I know the statistics are against horses winning two Gold Cups but I didn’t worry about them.
“I didn’t see anything all year that I was afraid of. Everyone was knocking the Champion Hurdle but, to me, I wasn’t afraid to take on anyone today. If the same horse turned up this year, I reckoned it would take something we hadn’t seen before to beat him.”
“Paul was very brave, it was his plan and the whole thing came together. It’s his day and that’s the way I want it. He had a difficult job taking over from Ruby Walsh but he’s stable jockey to Willie Mullins and he’s a top-class guy with it.”
Mullins added: “I’m very happy to win two and we’ll plan for three. If we are back even competing we’d be very pleased. The owner’s very keen and loves Cheltenham. We owe a little thank-you to [the late] Mick O’Toole for hooking us up with the Donnellys with the hope of winning a Gold Cup.
“It wasn’t the plan to go to Tramore [on New Year’s Day last year], the weather forced us. But we thought ‘why break a winning formula’, and I’d imagine that will be the plan next season, too.”
Marie Donnelly, the immaculately dressed wife of Joe, the Paris-based dapper former bookmaker, said: “We spoke to Paul in the paddock and Joe said to him to make history. It’s special for us and special for Willie to have in a row in one day. Well done to Paul. He was brave on him and he is obviously in tune with him.”
For the runner-up, Santini, it was a case of so near and yet so far.
“You’ve got to be proud of him and pleased for everyone but when you come that close …” said Nicky Henderson, leaving the sentence hanging. “He never touched a fence, he never left the inside rail, he fought like a lion but the other horse was better by a neck.
“It’s only his sixth steeplechase, he was a couple of lengths down at the last but I didn’t think we could hope for another Champ [his RSA winner who made up eight lengths from the last].”
“I’m a bit dejected,” said jockey Nico de Boinville, who picked up a two-day ban for interfering with Monalee. “I thought we were going to get there. It rode like a nice race, probably not fiercely run – we were all there three out. That’ll have made a man of Santini so the dream is still alive.”
Colin Tizzard was delighted with Lostintranslation. “It’s saved our week,” he said after a catalogue of disappointments. “He travelled, jumped and challenged at the last. I think he was slightly outstayed up the hill – not that he didn’t stay.
“It wasn’t a great prep pulling up in the King George then having a wind operation but the worst worry was the form of the stable. They’ve all been cutting out but then you get a lovely run like that so we’ve all forgotten it now.”
Coronavirus might not be forgotten for a while, but in the annals of the turf, neither will the exploits of Al Boum Photo be readily erased from the memory.
