Horse racing-Al Boum Photo wins Cheltenham Gold Cup
ByReuters
Published 15/03/2019 at 16:11 GMT
CHELTENHAM, England, March 15 (Reuters) - Al Boum Photo, ridden by Paul Townend, won the Cheltenham Gold Cup on Friday to give trainer Willie Mullins his first victory in the flagship race.
Eurosport
Image credit: Eurosport
The 12-1 shot beat Anibale Fly and Bristol De Mai as favourite Presenting Percy had a disappointing run.
"It feels great," Mullins, who had trained six runners-up in the race, told ITV Sport.
"It's good to get the Gold Cup finally, three of my other four runners were out before the circuit finished. But Al Boum Photo looked so relaxed and I knew he could jump.
"I come here every year and start afresh, but I didn't think I would have a good Cheltenham with how the winter had gone."
Earlier, 20-1 shot Pentland Hills won the Triumph Hurdle but the race was overshadowed by the death of favourite Sir Erec who had to be put down following a serious injury sustained after going over a fence.
"There was no reason we could have predicted that injury," David Sykes, the director of Equine Health and Welfare at the British Horseracing Authority, told ITV.
"Beforehand, when he was checked, the vets reported he moved well and had no indication of lameness or injuries. We are never going to stop those sort of catastrophic injuries."
Sir Erec was the second horse to die at the four-day festival after Mullins-trained Ballyward was fatally injured on Tuesday. (Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)
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