Cheltenham Festival 2019
The 2019 Cheltenham Festival provided brief respite for British trainers from the Irish onslaught, with the Prestbury Cup, for once, ending in a 14-14 draw. County Carlow trainer Willie Mullins was, nonetheless, leading trainer for the sixth time in his career with four winners, but Hampshire-born Nico de Boinville, who rode three winners, became the first Englishman to win the leading jockey award since Robert Thornton, back in 2007.
De Boinville won the Coral Cup, the Queen Mother Champion Chase and the Triumph Hurdle on William Henry, Altior and Pentland Hills, all trained by Nicky Henderson. Elsewhere, the Ryanair Chase and the Stayers’ Hurdle stayed at home, courtesy of Frodon, trained by Paul Nicholls, and Paisley Park, trained by Emma Lavelle, respectively. The Champion Hurdle, though, was won in impressive style by the ill-fated Espoir D’Allen, trained by Gavin Cromwell in County Meath, on what proved to be his last racecourse appearance.
In an effort to break his hoodoo in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, in which he had previously saddled the runner-up on no fewer than six occasions, Willie Mullins saddled four of the 16 runners. However, his challenge started badly when Kemboy, the best-fancied of his quartet, landed awkwardedly and unseated jockey Danny Mullins at the very first fence. Indeed, events took further turns for the worse throughout the first circuit; Bellshill, ridden by Ruby Walsh, made an appalling blunder at the fifth fence and, following further mistakes, was soon pulled up, while stable companion Invitation Only fell, fatally, when disputing the lead at the tenth fence.
Thus, Al Boum Photo, in the black and yellow colours of Joe and Marie Donnelly, was the only Mullins-trained runner left in the race after halfway. Nevertheless, the seven-year-old led turning for home and stayed on strongly from the final fence to beat Anibale Fly by two and a half lengths. Mullins said afterwards, “I had probably resigned myself to never winning a Gold Cup, so I didn’t really obsess about it or get too disappointed about it.”