13 March 2020
Photo Gold Cup 2020 : Laurence Roussel / Hippodrome
After a breathless finish on Friday at Cheltenham, the French-bred 8-year-old Al Boum Photo (Buck’s Boum) won the Gold Cup (Gr1), the English equivalent of the Grand Steeplechase, for the second consecutive year. He resisted, in the end, the return of favourite Santini (Milan), beaten by a neck. Lostintranslation (Flemensfirth) finishes third.
The winner is a thoroughbred bred in the Allier by his first trainer Emmanuel Clayeux and Jacky Rauch. The horse fell at his first and only attempt in France, over hurdles at Moulins in September at 3. He had just been bought back € 70,000 at Arqana summer sales. Passed under the training of Willie Mullins for owner Marie Donnelly, Al Boum Photo did not reappear until December 2016, at 4 years-old. He won two hurdle races in this first season, including a first Group 2 as a novice. During the 2017-2018 season, he switched to chases and fell again on his second attempt after a successful start, then fell once more at Cheltenham in the RSA Novices' Chase (Gr1), but he ended up winning his Group 1 at Fairyhouse. Easy winner for his comeback this season in a Listed Chase at Tramore in Ireland, he was running for the second time only in the Cheltenham Gold Cup ... He used the same path this season as he only ran once -and won, at Tramore on New Year's Day?.
His dam Al Gane (Dom Alco) was bred by Colette and Jacky Rauch. She did not run, but her dam was a sister to two good performers, Al Tip (Dom Alco) and Al Co (Dom Alco). It is also the family of Grands Crus (Dom Alco), who won at Group 1 level in England. The family does get along well with Dom Alco! Buck's Boum, who sired Al Boum Photo, is a brother to the mighty Big Buck's (Cadoudal), winner of 18 consecutive races between April 2008 and December 2012, including four editions of World Hurdle (Gr1) at Cheltenham ...
Al Boum Photo is Al Gane's first foal. She also gave a full sister born in 2013 called Diteou, who won at Cluny, then a filly by Khalkevi who won chasing last Autumn at Lignières when trained by Emmanuel Clayeux, a full brother to Al Boum Photo named T'Araison and finally a Cokoriko filly born in 2018.