THE publication this week of the entries for each of the novice hurdles at this year’s Cheltenham Festival has drawn much discussion around the overall drop in the number of horses being entered in the three feature Grade 1 novice hurdle events.

There were 61 entries for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, down from 96 last season, 95 for the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle, down from 120, while the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle entries have reduced from 74 to 52 this season.