THE Cheltenham Festival may not have started that well for top Irish trainer Willie Mullins and his stable jockey Paul Townend; however, the opening Tuesday was but a distant memory after they capped a brilliant week by winning a second consecutive Magners Cheltenham Gold Cup with Al Boum Photo.
The eight-year-old gelding has now joined a select band to have won consecutive Gold Cups since World War II; Cottage Rake, Arkle, L’Escargot and Best Mate. Kauto Star also won it twice, but either side of his defeat to Denman.
On Tuesday (10 March), Townend had come in for some criticism for Benie Des Dieux’s defeat to Honeysuckle, but it is a great strength of the jockey to put a reverse like that behind him by the time he comes out again.
Unlike last year’s Gold Cup, when Might Bite and Native River took each other on, there was not much pace. With a tight range of ratings for the dozen runners, it was no surprise that there were so many in with a chance from the top of the hill.
Aware of that, Townend had moved into the front rank on Al Boum Photo, so he could control the last quarter of the race and cover any moves from his rivals, including the cruising Lostintranslation and stable companion Real Steel.
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