Flooring Porter thrashes rivals to announce strong claim for 2025 Grand National

The two-time victor of the Stayers’ Hurdle astatine the Cheltenham Festival turned the Guinness Kerry National into a procession astatine Listowel

Horse-of-a-lifetime Flooring Porter has announced his candidacy for the £1m 2025 Grand National, 7 months earlier the Aintree spectacular.

He was introduced into the betting aft helium produced a breathtaking show successful the Guinness Kerry National connected Wednesday.

Trained by Gavin Cromwell, the nine-year-old has already delivered handsomely for his 4 members of the Flooring Porter syndicate who shelled retired conscionable £4,300 to bargain him successful 2018.

Since past helium has taken his vocation net past £670,000, doubly winning the Stayers’ Hurdle astatine Cheltenham.

He had raced lone 4 times implicit fences but added different £100,000 to his net erstwhile starring virtually from commencement to decorativeness nether Keith Donoghue successful the 3m handicap astatine Listowel.

By the 3rd obstruction the 6-1 accidental was already successful a wide pb and had extended the vantage adjacent further with conscionable 5 fences left.

Approaching the past 2 fences, commentator Jerry Hannon remarked: “There’s thing coming from behind.”

The Willie Mullins-trained Horantzau d’Airy managed to tally connected precocious to constrictive the borderline of triumph to 4 and a 4th lengths.

But with Donoghue capable to seashore successful from the last fence, Hannon added: “Flooring Porter is each people successful the Guinness Kerry National and gallops them into the ground.”

At this aboriginal signifier William Hill added Flooring Porter to the Grand National betting astatine 33-1 successful a marketplace headed by past year’s victor I Am Maximus connected 12-1.

Cromwell saddled Vanillier to decorativeness 2nd successful the 2023 Grand National and present has his oculus connected adjacent year’s contention for Flooring Porter.

“He got into a bushed and conscionable kept gathering the region from the field,” Cromwell told RacingTV. “I deliberation Keith was conscionable a rider really.

“I didn’t deliberation he’d stop, it was conscionable the jumping. He is precise hard to peg backmost erstwhile helium gets into that rhythm.”

He added: “The Grand National is decidedly worthy considering. I volition person a chat with the lads astir it. It’s thing I surely wouldn’t regularisation out.

“He’ll spell connected nicer ground, we cognize helium stays truly good and it’s left-handed.”