ON the week when the final entries for the Cheltenham Festival were revealed, Irish trainers accounted for a record total of 825. However, it was also revealed that both Le Richebourg and Penhill won’t be taking up their engagements after their trainers ruled them out of their respective races.

Willie Mullins revealed on Wednesday that Stayers’ Hurdle champion Penhill would not be going back to defend his crown. Tony Bloom’s classy stayer was found to be sore after a routine piece of work. Penhill has only been seen on the track four times in just over two years, but provided two of those wins at the Festival. News on Penhill saw the favourite Paisley Park shorten into 7/4 while Faugheen is second favourite at 11/2.

Le Richebourg had been as short as 5/2 favourite for the Arkle after two Grade 1 wins at Leopardstown. Joseph O’Brien revealed the news through his new Betfair blog without revealing the extent of the injury, under than that it ruled the J.P. McManus-owned chaser out for the remainder of the season. The news prompted bookmakers to make Kayley Woollacott’s Lalor favourite for the Arkle.

News on Le Richebourg led to plenty of speculation that Defi Du Seuil, the JLT Chase favourite and also owned by J.P. McManus, could be rerouted to the Arkle but his trainer Philip Hobbs said yesterday that the two-and-a-half-mile race was still the plan.

The opposite is the case for Amy Murphy’s Kalashnikov, who will go for the Arkle, instead of coming up in trip.

Verdana Blue is still on course for the Champion Hurdle, despite an odds-on defeat on the all-weather at Kempton on Wednesday evening. Nicky Henderson’s mare was beaten by Gumball but the trainer indicated after the race that he wasn’t too disappointed and that the mare will run at Cheltenham as long as the ground is quick enough.