Grand National could be ultimate aim for Flooring Porter

The Cleeve Hurdle and the Grand National are among the options under consideration for Flooring Porter following his brilliant display in the Kerry National.

Gavin Cromwell’s dual Stayers’ Hurdle hero secured his biggest victory over fences to date in last week’s Listowel feature, galloping his rivals into submission from the front.

With a tilt at the world’s most famous steeplechase at Aintree in April under serious consideration, Cromwell could look to campaign his stable star back over the smaller obstacles in the meantime, with the Cleeve Hurdle at Cheltenham in January identified as a possible target.

Where and when Flooring Porter will run before the new year is up in the air, with his trainer keen to assess all opportunities before finalising plans.

“He’s come out of it good, obviously it was great to see him the way he did and it’s a lovely race to win. It’s all right making these plans, but trying to execute them is never simple,” said Cromwell.

“We’ll look at the Cleeve Hurdle and possibly the Grand National after that. I haven’t done any more thinking about it or made any more plans, so that’s where we are at the moment.

“It’s a long time from now until the Cleeve Hurdle and if we could find a race for him between now and then, that would be great. We’ll scour the calendar in Ireland and England see what we can come up with.

“He’s gone up a stone for winning the other day, which takes him to 163. He’s going to have a lot of weight in the National already, so it’s a difficult one as do you jeopardise going up even further by running well in a big race somewhere?

“We’re in bonus territory at this stage and we’ve been in it for a while!”