Florida Pearl could finally achieve his destiny and win the Tote Cheltenham Gold Cup, his trainer revealed today. Willie Mullins hopes the Pertemps King George VI Chase hero could land the big race prize that has so far eluded him, but first the 10-year-old will bid for a fourth consecutive victory in the Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup at Leopardstown next month.
Adrian Maguire, who came in for the winning ride at Kempton, will extend his association with Florida Pearl after being booked for the mount. Reflecting on the Kempton victory, Mullins told the BBC: "He really enjoyed himself up there, probably without any other horses in front of him. Adrian just kicked into the horse and they got on like a house on fire. Best Mate ran a cracker and we will renew rivalry at Cheltenham."
Mullins also said he believed the ground might be a crucial factor at Cheltenham for Florida Pearl. "The ground was very good at Kempton and the twice he has won at Cheltenham, it's been very good. He goes on soft ground but maybe soft ground up the hill at Leopardstown in February might just take its toll. It takes a lot of getting around there when the ground is soft."
Asked why Florida Pearl, who has twice been placed in the Gold Cup, had not won the race, he added: "I think you have got to be right on the day for the Gold Cup. We have seen lots of very good horses getting beaten in the Gold Cup and not able to win one. It's three miles and two - and everything has got to go according to plan. I am hoping that maybe this year it might be our year and things just might go according to plan."
He also revealed that he hoped Maguire would be aboard again. "I am hoping he rides in the Hennessy and, depending on his plans for the Gold Cup - he still has Paris Pike - if he is free, I am sure we will be delighted. When he won the SunAlliance, I think he took up the running at the top of the hill and stayed on the whole way home. When he was novice chasing, we were always afraid that he might be too free and our policy was to settle him and teach him how to settle, and maybe we overdid that a little bit but that was what we thought. As the horse gets older now and he's settling a bit better, maybe we should be letting him run a bit like he did at Kempton. He's a Christian to train, he's quiet as a lamb. I think anybody could ride him out. He's just so easy to handle. He's a lovely horse to have."
Filed by Shane Murray
