Ruby Walsh’s Analyse This: The flaws in Flooring Porter

Watch what Ruby Walsh had to say on Road To Cheltenham about how and why the Stayers' Hurdle winner Flooring Porter ended up falling on his return at Navan.

Flooring Porter was a revelation last season when he progressed from run to run and ended up winning the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.

But he’s a notoriously difficult ride and he fell two out in the Lismullen Hurdle at Navan last Sunday when making his reappearance.

How and why did the champion end up on the floor?

He was good and straight at the first hurdle but Danny Mullins never asked to jump.

Watch him as the race progresses. Danny goes “one, two, go on” and Flooring Porter responds, but then see what happens on the landing side – he goes inside off the track and Danny has to wrestle him back ono to it.

The camera then flicks to show you the next shot, which is a head on, and Danny sits quiet at that hurdle. But Flooring Porter has again still gone a little to his left, so that’s in his jockey's head. “If I ask this horse to jump he is going to go violently left”, which is proven.

At the third last, Danny sits quiet and he goes quite straight but by now the race is starting to quicken and as they run down to two out Danny doesn't want to ask him because, if he does, he’s going to violently left.

So he sits to let him pop but, with the speed up, Flooring Porter comes up himself and catches the top bar. I can understand why Danny wasn’t going for the jump and keep watching once they part company. There was a white doll which comes up pretty soon afterwards, which is the running rail, and Flooring Porter heads that way.

I can see why Danny sat quiet. Some people will be giving out about it, but I’d have done the same as him.

Riding is all about reacting to what happens and Flooring Porter told Danny what he would what he would do if he let go off his head. That’s why he didn’t.

Flooring Porter’s propensity to go left and need a rail is nothing new. He’s hell of a good racehorse but there is a kink in him. We saw that big time at Punchestown in April, when he was without a running rail and got worked up. He ended up being pulled up that day.

Leopardstown suits him as most of the hurdles are close to a running rail. The Stayers’ Hurdle at Cheltenham shouldn't have because they are all island hurdles, but I think going a strong end-to-end gallop when he's at peak fitness really suits him. That’s when you never have to touch his mouth.

Overall, the Stayers’ Hurdle division is open. Latest Exhibition, Thyme Hill and Klassical Dream are all other leading players.

I’ve a soft spot for Thyme Hill and would forgive him his below-par reappearance run in France. Going there first time up when the French have been targeting it, and all had prep runs, is a very hard thing to do.

Everyone at Closutton is hoping Klassical Dream can stay injury free but his history tells its own story. There's no disguising that he's fragile.