DANOLI was yesterday reported to be "fine" after his fail two out in Thursday's Tote Cheltenham Gold Cup. "Danoli was sore in his joint when he came back in and as he was in so much pain we decided to have him X-rayed at the track," explained trainer Tom Foley.

Foley blamed the firm going for the horse's soreness. "That is with jumping on hard ground, we can't do that any more. His joint just couldn't stand up to the pressure.

"It was an old injury, his near fore joint." Immediately after his 1995 success in the Martell Aintree Hurdle, Danoli was diagnosed as having fractured a fetlock and was dispatched to Leahurst Veterinary College in Liverpool for an operation where he was treated by vet Chris Riggs.

Riggs was at Cheltenham on Thursday and Foley ordered the X-rays after racing so Riggs could check the results.

"I had seen Chris Riggs earlier at the races so I went and asked him if he would mind stopping back to have a look at the X-rays to see if there was any new damage, the trainer continued. "When he saw the X-rays he was happy enough. He said Danoli was fine.

"Danoli was a good horse on good fast ground but we can't run him on it anymore because of one joint, the other three are sound."

The gelding will now be turned away for the summer and brought back for a chasing campaign next season with the Gold Cup his long-term target.

"Danoli has been let off for the season now. We were considering Punchestown in April but it will be too firm there.

"He is back in his box now and is happy enough. He is well bandaged up and has lost some of his soreness already and I think he would probably walk out sound in the morning.

"He has jumped 20 fences round Cheltenham so has the experience. We will be back for a crack at the Gold Cup next year, with some rain, but not too much, it could be a different story."

Meanwhile, William Hill announced a marginal increase in turnover for the three days of the Cheltenham Festival compared to 1996.

"There is obviously no doubt that the results were kind to us," said David Hood. "Turnover on Tuesday and Wednesday showed a slight increase, but more importantly figures for Thursday produced a 10 per cent rise from last year.

"However, and it is important that the racing industry realises this, the reason for the increase is not down to the Festival but to the fact that there were three afternoon meetings this year compared to two in 1996.

"This confirms once again the importance of placing fixtures to their best advantage within the programme.