Festival Fever - The Big Debate | How good is Al Boum Photo? Have your say!
This week we look at the career of Al Boum Photo ahead of his bid for a remarkable third consecutive Magners Gold Cup. The question is - how good is he? Have your say!
How good is Al Boum Photo? Send your thoughts in via twitter @SportingLife, Facebook or on email to racingfeedback@sportinglife.com.
The development
If you can’t really remember Al Boum Photo’s hurdling career that’s with good reason. He didn’t make it onto one of Willie Mullins’ Cheltenham-bound lorries for the Festival in his sole hurdling season and even on his best day over timber, when he won a Grade 2 novice at Fairyhouse, he was the stable third string.
That victory ensured him one crack at Grade 1 glory over hurdles, on his last race over the smaller obstacles at Punchestown as a five-year-old in the spring of 2017. He bumped into three Cheltenham Festival winners from the previous month, Champagne Classic, Penhill and Presenting Percy, in a red-hot race and finished fifth, beaten just over 13 lengths by the first-named of that trio.
Having had one race over hurdles in France before all that, in which he fell when a fresh-faced three-year-old, Al Boum Photo began his chasing career with just five hurdling starts under his belt. But he is from a family of chasers, including Al Co and Grand Crus, and was always destined to tackle a fence.
He did so for the first time at Navan on November 26 2017, where he justified odds-on favouritism well despite racing over an inadequate 2m1f. “He will get further,” was somewhat of an understatement from Mullins and he duly stepped up in trip to just over 2m3f at Limerick on his next start at Christmas, where he fell at the last when looking the likely winner.
Al Boum Photo had already looked a very good jumper in the main, but that wasn’t the last of his high-profile errors in a novice-chasing campaign filled with drama.
After underlining his potential in the sphere with a good second to Monalee in the Grade 1 Flogas Chase at Leopardstown in February, Al Boum Photo fell at the second last in the RSA Chase at the Cheltenham Festival the following month, although he was held in third at the time as Presenting Percy cruised home from Monalee with the Irish dominating.
He quickly bounced back from that, winning the Grade 1 Ryanair Novice Chase over 2m4f at Fairyhouse two weeks later, before the infamous Paul Townend manoeuvre at Punchestown where he ran out at the last when seemingly in control of the Grade 1 Growise Champion Novice Chase.
Townend cited a genuine mistake, believing he had to bypass the last before realising his error when it was too late. He had been unlucky a few times, but Al Boum Photo finished his novice chase season with form figures of 1-F-2-F-1-RO.
Striking Gold
If Al Boum Photo’s novice chasing season was littered with drama, things have gone very smoothly since. Another understatement. Since that run out at Punchestown, Al Boum Photo has run five times, winning four of them, finishing second once, winning two Cheltenham Gold Cups.
It has become a familiar routine, Tramore then Cheltenham, but it came about by accident rather than design.
After winning the Listed Savills Chase on New Year’s Day in 2019, Al Boum Photo was all set for the Irish Gold Cup at the Dublin Racing Festival just over a month later. Unseasonal fast ground meant he was a late withdrawal, though, so he went to Cheltenham a fresh horse on the back of a 73-day break.
Mullins had taken 22 horses to the Cheltenham Gold Cup before, but none had come home with the trophy, and Al Boum Photo was only the third choice of punters between horses from his yard in the 2019 renewal.
Sent off at 12/1, he belied those odds with a superb performance, beating the five-time Grade One winner Bristol De Mai who was third, the previous year’s winner, Native River, who was fourth, and the-then reigning King George hero Clan Des Obeaux, who was fifth.
It had taken Mullins an age to find the formula, but he’d found it now and, considering his spring project work with Quevega, it should be no surprise to anyone that he gave Al Boum Photo an identikit route to Cheltenham the following year. And, as it transpires, the year after that (this year), as well.
In the 2020 Gold Cup he had to fight. Six or seven horses were still in contention jumping the last, but Al Boum Photo had a narrow advantage and he wasn’t for passing. Santini tried one late, final, lunge, but, stretching every sinew, Al Boum Photo stuck his neck out to win by that margin and become the first horse since Best Mate to win back-to-back Gold Cups.
The odds (Sky Bet – correct at 1000 GMT 31/01/2021)
- Al Boum Photo – 3/1
- Minella Indo – 9/1
- A Plus Tard – 9/1
- Santini – 9/1
- Royal Pagaille – 10/1
- Champ – 10/1
- Frodon – 14/1
- Kemboy – 16/1
- Lostintranslation – 16/1
- 20/1 BAR
The Sporting Life Verdict - Ben Linfoot
Where is the love for Al Boum Photo? The prospect of a three-time Magners Cheltenham Gold Cup winner should inspire frenzied excitement. We’ve had one, ONE, triple Gold Cup winner since Arkle in 1966 and that was 17 years ago now, when Best Mate saw off Sir Rembrandt amid joyous scenes.
Perhaps that’s it. Maybe if 200,000 people were getting ready for the annual pilgrimage to Cheltenham there would be more of a buzz about him. Or maybe it’s his name? Perhaps if he were called Rock Hard Reggie we wouldn’t be able to move for RHR scarves.
It is difficult to answer the ‘how good is he’ question and therein lies another problem with Al Boum Photo. We just don’t see him enough to establish a solid view. In two Gold Cups he has shown some tremendous qualities and has seen off some very good horses, but that’s all we’ve got to go on.
There’s nothing new to take from him beating stablemates at Tramore.
But, purely looking at those Gold Cups, I don’t think there is any doubting his official rating of 175. In the 2019 Gold Cup he beat three horses rated 173 at the time in Bristol De Mai, Native River and Clan Des Obeaux, by over six, nine and 11 lengths, respectively, and there were six horses behind him rated 170 or higher in 2020.
If anything, he might well have been denied the chance to prove he can be even better than that, but even if we accept the 175 there aren’t too many chasers that have been rated higher in the last decade.
After the Kauto Star and Denman era I can count 12; Imperial Commander, Bobs Worth, Sprinter Sacre, Long Run, Master Minded, Silviniaco Conti, Sizing Europe, Vautour, Cue Card, Native River, Kemboy and Cyrname.
That’s how good Al Boum Photo is and the Gold Cup plays to his strengths. He had the speed to win a Grade 1 over 2m4f as a novice, so he has that touch of class, but he also stays so well and he is absolutely the standout candidate in what isn’t a vintage era for staying chasers.
He deserves to be the 3/1 favourite for the Gold Cup and if you can get anything bigger ‘Non Runner No Bet’ then that looks a fair wager.
Who are the challengers?
A Plus Tard and Frodon won the big Grade Ones either side of the Irish Sea over Christmas, but both have to find another level to get to Al Boum Photo’s standard and the biggest threat could well still be last year’s runner-up, Santini, who stays so well and would be right in the mix on soft ground.
His stablemate Champ hasn’t been seen since his RSA Chase win, so it’s difficult to assess his claims, while the runner-up from that race, Minella Indo, is another who could develop into a Gold Cup horse but has to bounce back from falling in the Savills Chase last time out.
The most potent rival could be Royale Pagaille, who could be anything after two ridiculously easy handicap chase wins in the last six weeks. The problem with him is he has novice options and might not even take his chance, but his confirmed target is awaited with interest.
He might be the only one with the potential to beat Al Boum Photo. The dual winner sets a lofty standard and I’m not sure anything else will be good enough.
How good is Al Boum Photo? Send your thoughts in via twitter @SportingLife, Facebook or on email to racingfeedback@sportinglife.com.
YOUR VERDICTS
Lloyd Young: "For me Al Boum Photo fits into the same category as Best Mate, Istabraq, Mike Tyson, Pete Sampras. They do not receive the plaudits because the rest of the opposition is not up to scratch in those times. Santini and Lostintranslation. Anibale Fly and Bristol De Mai. Best Mate beating Sir Rembrandt, Truckers Tavern and Commanche Court? Hardly like Long Run beating Denman & Kauto Star in 2011. Istabraq kept beating Theatreworld, which Champion Hurdler wouldn't? In their prime Tyson was nowhere near Ali, Fraser or Foreman and Sampras wss hardly a Borg, McEnroe, Connors or Federer. It's not their fault, they beat what's against them.
I feel Minella Indo is the one to beat, he won the Albert Bartlet from the front easily. He got mugged last year, given that race again Rachael Blackmore would have kicked for home 3 fences out, I think she rode to beat Allaho which was comfortable enough. The horse even responded again aftef Champ went past. Apart from that I don't see much change from last year. Al Boum Photo? A good horse, not a great one."
BillyB: "Winning two Gold Cups is a great achievement. But does it make him one of the greats? In my opinion, no. I agree with Ben's verdict. It is hard to judge a horse when his only other two wins in the past two years were in the Grade 3 at Tramore. But in his two Gold Cups he did beat 4&6 horses respectively in the fields that were rated 170+, suggesting strong races. My doubts stem from the official ratings of these horses, which I believe to be too high. Over the past few years the handicapper seems to overrated a chaser for winning one race, Bristol de Mai and Cyrname e.g. which has then resulted through related form lines to most top chasers being too highly rated.
I can see Al Boum Photo beating the same horses he beat last year, but in the Henry de Bromhead pair and particularly Royale Pagaille he will face stronger opposition."
Dave Chapman: "Well he is obviously a good horse, is he a world beater prob not. He has a great trainer a great jockey and he has found a race and a course that suits him down to the ground, it also helps that the competition over in recent times hasn’t been top drawer - this year being a case in point some horses he will face have plenty of questions to answer and some haven’t yet even been able to get a run so Al Boom looks like a decent bet to make it 3 Gold Cups But for me for all I like the horse and have won good money backing him I wouldn’t have him as one of the better Gold Cup horses I have witnessed over the years."
Previously in The Big Debate
- Is Paisley Park a Stayers' banker?
- Is Altior still Champion material?
- Is Epatante a Champion Hurdle bet?