Al Boum Photo

Bred, and initially owned and trained, by Emmanuel Clayeux in France, Al Boum Photo made just one start in his native land before being and sent to Willie Mullins in County Carlow and purchased by Joe and Marie Donnelly in late 2016. Sent over fences the following season, the son of Buck’s Boum made his first appearance at the Cheltenham Festival in 2018, falling two out, when held in third place, in the RSA Insurance Novices’ Chase.

In 2019, Al Boum Photo lined up in the Cheltenham Gold Cup for the first time. Sent off at 12/1, which made him the third choice of four Mullins-trained entries, he led turning for home and stayed on strongly from the final fence to beat Anibale Fly by two and a half lengths. In so doing, he became a first Cheltenham Gold Cup for Mullins, who had previously saddled the runner-up on no fewer than six occasions, and for his soon-to-be-appointed stable jockey Paul Townend.

In 2020, Al Boum Photo won his preparatory race for the Cheltenham Gold Cup, the Savills New Year’s Day at Tramore, as he had done the previous year, and was subsequently sent off 100/30 favourite to defend his title in the ‘Blue Riband’ event. Again ridden by Townend, he disputed the lead four out and, although narrowly headed by Lostintranslation between the final two fences, regained the lead at the last and stayed on to win, all out, by a neck from Santini.

Al Boum Photo ran in the Cheltenham Gold Cup twice more, finishing third behind Minella Indo in 2021 and sixth behind A Plus Tard in 2022. He was retired from racing in June 2022, having been pulled up, after jumping poorly, on his final appearance, in the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris at Auteil the previous month.