Blow for Mullins as Monkfish ruled out

MONKFISH, one of the most exciting steeplechasers in training and 6-1 jointfavourite for the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March, is sidelined for the season. Trainer Willie Mullins revealed that the sevenyear-old has suffered a tendon injury. Monkfish, who is owned by Rich and Susannah Ricci, produced a dominant performance at the Cheltenham Festival when he made all the running to beat Fiddlerontheroof by over six lengths in the three-mile Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase. It was his second Festival win. Although he was beaten by stablemate Colreevy on his final run of last season at the Punchestown Festival, Monkfish was seen as potentially the biggest Gold Cup threat to 2021 winner Minella Indo, especially as his imposing physique made it likely he could still improve physically.

Mullins (above) also revealed that his seventime Grade One winner Min has been retired after sustaining an injury in the Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham which required an operation. Min’s toplevel wins included the 2020 Ryanair Chase.

• TRAINER Philip Hobbs says Thyme Hill will stay hurdling this season rather than being switched to novice chasing. Injury ruled the seven-year-old out of the Stayers’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival but he bounced back to win the Grade One Liverpool Hurdle at Aintree in April.

• DERMOT WELD has booked Christophe Soumillon, the ten-time French champion jockey, to ride favourite Tarnawa in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp a week on Sunday. Soumillon won the Prix Vermeille and Prix De l’Opera on the mare last season. lFORMER trainer John Sutcliffe, who won the 1969 English and Irish 2,000 Guineas with Right Tack, has died at the age of 81.