Flooring Porter the one to beat but Beacon's odds give him the edge in Stayers

Beacon Edge: could have the speed to land the Stayers Hurdle at Aintree

Beacon Edge: ran well for a long way when fourth behind Flooring Porter in the Stayers' HurdleCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

5.25 Punchestown
Ladbrokes Champion Stayers Hurdle (Grade 1) | 3m | 4yo+ | RTE2/RTV

This Grade 1 revolves around the 164-rated Flooring Porter, the brilliant all-the-way winner of the Stayers Hurdle at Cheltenham. That is not a sentence I thought I would be typing back in October when he was beaten five lengths into second off a mark of 131 in a handicap hurdle at Gowran Park.

The transformation of Flooring Porter since that defeat has been arguably the success story of the entire jumps season. A wide-margin win in a hot handicap hurdle at Navan when 22-1 suggested he might be a reformed character and there was ample evidence of that when he did something similar in his first Grade 1.

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David JenningsDeputy Ireland editor

Published on 28 April 2021inPreviews

Last updated 18:24, 28 April 2021

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