Willie Mullins has confirmed Kemboy is likely to join stablemate Al Boum Photo in next month’s WellChild Cheltenham Gold Cup.

While Al Boum Photo will be bidding for a third successive victory in the blue riband, Kemboy is out to make it third time lucky, having unseated his rider at the first fence in 2019 and finished only seventh in last year’s renewal.

Kemboy – who was the last horse to beat Al Boum Photo, in the 2019 Punchestown Gold Cup – holds alternative engagements in the Ryanair Chase and the Stayers’ Hurdle at this year’s Festival.

But having bounced back to something like his best this season – finishing a close second to A Plus Tard in the Savills Chase before going one better in the Irish Gold Cup – Mullins feels he deserves another crack at Gold Cup glory in three weeks’ time.

“Kemboy hasn’t a great record in Cheltenham and I think that could be down to me and a bit of bad luck,” Mullins told www.sportinglife.com.

“We’ll see about who is going to ride him in the Gold Cup, but I think the idea would be to be more forward this year.”