'He's plenty fit enough to start off' - Stayers' Hurdle hero Flooring Porter down in trip and back over fences
Two-time Stayers' Hurdle winner Flooring Porter is a surprising star name on show on Friday when he gets his campaign under way at Killarney.
The nine-year-old is one of the most popular stars of the jumps game having contested the last four Stayers' Hurdles, winning in 2021 and 2022, finishing fourth the following year and filling the runner-up spot behind Teahupoo in March.
Connections opted to give chasing a try last season and he landed his first start over fences at Cheltenham in October before finishing third in the Florida Pearl Novice Chase at Punchestown, despite jumping and hanging left for much of the way. He then filled the same spot at Leopardstown behind Grangeclare West and Corbetts Cross before reverting to hurdles at Cheltenham and Aintree.
He is back over fences for the first time since December in the 2m1f BoyleSports Handicap Chase, the shortest trip he has run over since landing his maiden hurdle in August 2019.
Trainer Gavin Cromwell was short of options, given Flooring Porter is much happier running on a left-handed track, and said his main early season target was the Kerry National at Listowel on September 25.
Keith Donoghue will maintain the partnership and Cromwell said: "He's back over fences and the trip is on the sharp side for him, obviously. We are limited regarding where we can go in order to go left-handed. The long-term plan is to go to the Kerry National, so we want to get a run into him.
"He's in good form at home. He's plenty fit enough to start off and hopefully he can come on for the run."
The €45,000 pot will be hotly contested and the Richard O'Brien-trained Extrapolation seems on a nice mark on his handicap chase debut after excelling over fences at Ballinrobe last time out when he beat the useful Mighty Tom by seven and a half lengths.
Gillian Callaghan saddles The Dasher Conway who landed a handicap chase at Kilbeggan on his penultimate start in gritty style and acquitted himself well off a 5lb higher mark when runner-up at the same track last time out.
Dancing On My Own has some top-class handicap form, most notably when landing the Red Rum at Aintree last year and another lucrative pot at Cheltenham in October. He makes his reappearance having finished sixth in the Red Rum on his last start in April for Henry de Bromhead.
Killarney also sees the return of Jack Kennedy from suspension. His first ride in more than two months is in the 2m7f mares' maiden hurdle on the Gordon Elliott-trained Wudya.
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