Dual Stayers’ Hurdle hero Flooring Porter heads to Killarney on Friday in preparation for a planned tilt at the Kerry National.
Gavin Cromwell’s charge made a successful start to a belated career over fences at Cheltenham last October, before switching back to the smaller obstacles to finish second in his bid for a third Stayers’ Hurdle at the Festival in March.
Having had a break since finishing fifth at Aintree the following month, the nine-year-old will revert to fences in the BoyleSports Handicap Chase – and while the two-mile-one-furlong distance is short of his optimum trip, Cromwell hopes it will tee him up for a tilt at Listowel’s September showpiece.
“He’s had a good enough break, the plan is to go to the Kerry National in September at Listowel and I just wanted to get a run into him before that,” said the trainer.
“Two miles one is obviously too short for him, but I was anxious to go left-handed and the other option was to go to Galway and that’s obviously right-handed, which wouldn’t be ideal.
“He looks great and we’re happy with him and this looks a good starting point.”
Flooring Porter is set to face six rivals in County Kerry, with Henry de Bromhead’s high-class chaser Dancing On My Own and the John McConnell-trained Dreal Deal among them.
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