Alexander Banquet will miss not only the Tote Cheltenham Gold Cup but has also been ruled out for the rest of the season. The Willie Mullins-trained eight-year-old has a slight leg injury, which he could have picked up when second to his stable companion, Florida Pearl, in the Hennessy Gold Cup.
That return to form thrust Alexander Banquet back into the Gold Cup picture, and he was a 16 to 1 ante-post shot yesterday with Ladbrokes. But the horse will not be seen again until next season.
"We just haven't been 100 per cent happy with him," Mullins reported yesterday, "and although the problem is very minimal we would rather up stumps for this year instead of incurring possible problems in the long term.
"He has a very mild strain in a foreleg tendon, but there just isn't enough time to get him ready for the Gold Cup. We probably could have got him right for Punchestown, but I wouldn't have been happy to run him on that ground and we would have been pushing things."
In contrast, Florida Pearl worked yesterday morning and "delighted" Mullins, who intends giving the Weatherbys Champion Bumper hope Bassett Tiger a first race over the weekend.
The well-touted Mullins newcomers Ultimate Accolade and Hedgehunter got turned over last weekend, but the trainer reported yesterday: "Bassett Tiger will run over the weekend at either Fairyhouse or Naas. The three definites for Cheltenham remain Davenport Milenium, Summer In Siberia and One Night Out. I will enter the other horses but won't decide until later who might run."
Other Mullins hopes for Cheltenham are the novice hurdlers Be My Royal and Macs Gildoran, who hold entries in Sunday's Woodland Park Johnstown Novice Hurdle at Naas.
Mullins said, however, that Be My Royal will skip the SunAlliance Hurdle at the festival and instead run in the Bonusprint Stayers Hurdle. "He has won three races over three miles and I think three-and-aquarter miles on better ground will suit him. Macs Gildoran could go for the SunAlliance."
The Sunday highlight at Naas is likely to be the Cox Memorial Newlands Chase, where the Edward O'Grady pair of Nick Dundee and Go Roger Go are likely be faced by the Arkle Trophy second favourite Knife Edge, as well as the Mildmay of Flete possible Ferbet Junior.
Knife Edge missed out on a recent Fairyhouse engagement, but his trainer, Michael O'Brien, said: "He seems to be fine once more and he runs on Sunday even though the opposition looks tough."
Ireland's main SunAlliance Chase hope, Sackville, is an intended runner in the Anglo Irish Bank Nas Na Riogh Chase. His trainer, Frances Crowley, said yesterday: "He needs either a race or a school and it makes more sense to run him at Naas."
Before that, however, the other smart novice, Ross Moff, is scheduled to run in tomorrow's Killinan Chase at Thurles. Trainer Tony Martin has booked Conor O'Dwyer for the mount and Ross Moff has a range of festival options, including the Arkle, the SunAlliance or the Cathcart.
