Flooring Porter is set to compete for his third victory in the Stayers’ Hurdle at the upcoming Cheltenham Festival, having been omitted from the National Hunt Chase entries on the event’s opening day.

Trained by Gavin Cromwell, the nine-year-old began his chasing career this season, marking it with a win at Cheltenham in his first race over fences in October, followed by two finishes in third place.

After experiencing difficulties on the right-handed course, Flooring Porter came in third at a Grade 2 novice chase in Punchestown in November, and again took third place at the Grade 1 Neville Hotels Novice Chase at Leopardstown in December, trailing Grangeclare West and Corbetts Cross.

The decision has been made to return him to hurdling, for the first time since he was ninth at the French Champion Hurdle in Auteuil last May.

With three wins from four starts at Cheltenham, including the Stayers’ Hurdle in 2021 and 2022, Flooring Porter, a progeny of Yeats, is a 12-1 shot with sponsor Paddy Power for this year’s race. Cromwell highlighted, with a seasonal jump success rate of 25 percent in Britain (11-44), that after considering the competition and what’s best for the horse, they are aiming for another attempt at the Stayers’ Hurdle.

Cromwell also mentioned the smoother preparation this year compared to last, when an injury at Christmas led to a fourth-place finish in the race. They chose not to race him recently to ensure he’s fresh for Cheltenham.

Big Buck’s, the record holder for the Grade 1 race, won it four times from 2009 to 2012. Teahupoo, trained by Gordon Elliott, is the favorite for the Stayers’ Hurdle at 2-1, followed by stablemate Irish Point at 4-1, who was also confirmed for the Champion Hurdle.

Nick Rockett and Minella Cocooner were notable omissions from the National Hunt Chase, leaving Willie Mullins with Embassy Gardens and Meetingofthewaters as his entries for the race, which honors his late mother Maureen.

Photo used from Sky News.