It has been one of the most intriguing sub-plots ahead of this year’s Cheltenham Festival, but it seems that Yorkhill, the 2016 Neptune Investment Management Novices’ Hurdle winner will not run in thos year’s Grade One Stan James Champion Hurdle according to his trainer Willie Mullins.
The Closutton handler’s Cheltenham battalion has taken a dent in recent months particularly with regard to the Champion Hurdle with last year’s winner Annie Power and 2015 victor Faugheen both ruled out of the two-mile Championship contest.
That led to Andrea and Graham Wylie’s gelding Yorkhill being touted as a potential super-sub replacement for the contest and was a general 7/2 for the race, but Mullins was quick to dispel those rumours.
Speaking to the Irish Times, Ireland’s Champion Jumps trainer said: “I’m happy to keep him over fences. It’s his novice year.
“We could seriously have a think about putting him back over hurdles next season if we want to. But at the moment we’re not thinking like that.
“At the moment the Champion Hurdle is not part of our plan.”
Yorkhill would therefore look likely to go for the Grade One JLT Novices’ Chase over two-miles and four furlongs for which he heads favouritism rather than the Arkle over two miles.
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