Allaho dismissed any doubts about his stamina with a brilliant front-running success in the Ladbrokes Punchestown Gold Cup.
Successful just once in five previous starts over three miles, Allaho was sent off the 6/5 favourite despite those doubts about his effectiveness at the trip.
Allaho dictated a good gallop under Paul Townend in a repeat of the tactics employed in the Ryanair Chase at last month's Cheltenham Festival, a race he had dominated from start to finish in impressive fashion.
Everything appeared to be going to plan as one by one his rivals came off the bridle and, with just one fence to jump, it was simply a case of whether Allaho could sustain the gallop.
That question was answered emphatically as Allaho kept finding despite getting close to the final fence, ultimately beating the defending champion Clan des Obeaux by 14 lengths.
Al Boum Photo edged out Kemboy for third to complete a one-three-four for trainer Willie Mullins.
Allaho is now 8/1 from 20/1 for the Cheltenham Gold Cup with Betfair – a race won this year by A Plus Tard, also owned by Cheveley Park Stud.
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Mullins said: “Paul didn’t take any prisoners there, he told me he was going to jump out and he said to me ‘he’ll stay won’t he?’, to which I replied ‘of course he will!’.
“So that was his plan, Al Boum wanted to jump out too and so did Kemboy, but Paul said he wanted to jump out over the first two and see who would be with him and ride a race from there. As it turns out only Clan des Obeaux was able to stay with him.
“Bryan Cooper rode Al Boum Photo and said he’d never ridden in a faster Gold Cup in his life, it was end-to-end and good to see.
“He just got beaten as a novice at Cheltenham over three miles when he was up in front taking something on, but he’s a lot more mature now.
“I don’t know about the King George, I’ll talk to Richard Thompson (of Cheveley Park), but that opens up a lot more options for him now. You could probably say King George the way he jumps.
“He’s some engine and I just hoped he could do what he did there today. I was a bit worried he could only do that over two and a half, but now he can do it over three and he’ll be more mature next year. He’s only eight.
“We’ve Galopin Des Champs as well (for the Gold Cup) but we know from experience, hopefully they’ll be there next spring. In the jumps game horses don’t always come round the following season, hopefully these two do. We’ve Capodanno after yesterday as well.
“I don’t know about three and a quarter (miles) for Allaho, but I do think he’s better going left-handed. That extra quarter-mile is tough when you know what he can do over two and a half.”
