NEWS ROUND-UPKICKING KING will miss out on next week's Totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup after failing to impress his trainer Tom Taaffe enough in a crucial piece of work yesterday.
The 2005 Gold Cup Cup hero had been a general 33 to 1 shot to stage a Blue-Riband comeback in eight days time but Taaffe has pulled stumps on the Irish star's festival hopes.
"He didn't sparkle enough in his work to suggest he could go on and win another Cheltenham Gold Cup so he doesn't travel," he said.
"We will wait until he starts to show his old spark and then we will go and reprogramme. There are races for him at Fairyhouse and Punchestown. There are others at Navan and Cork. We'll just give it a fortnight and see. It's disappointing but what can you do," Taaffe added.
Kicking King had been out of action for over two years before running encouragingly at Gowran in January.
A subsequent start at the same course last month was disappointing but Taaffe was hopeful of a return to form after a back problem was diagnosed in the horse immediately afterwards.
Harry Rogers also announced yesterday that an unsatisfactory scope has ruled Silent Oscar out of a crack at Tuesday's Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle.
"He just wasn't totally clean and we're not willing to take a chance on him after that so we had to decide against going to Cheltenham," said the Co Louth trainer.
Mouse Morris has been involved in eight Cheltenham victories during the course of his lengthy racing career but he rates the chances of next week's Ballymore Properties Novice Hurdle Venalmar as high as almost any horse he has ever taken to the festival.
The Co Tipperary-based trainer first hit the Cheltenham mark as a jockey 34 years ago on board Mr Midland in the four-mile National Hunt Chase and had his finest moment in 2006 with War Of Attrition's Gold Cup triumph.
In between were a pair of Champion Chase wins on Skymas (1976-77) and Buck House won both the Supreme (1983) and the Champion Chase (1986.) Throw in Trapper John's Stayers Hurdle victory of 1990 and Fota Island's 2005 Grand Annual and Morris's three runners next week have some illustrious footsteps to follow in.
Venalmar hasn't run since beating Trafford Lad at Naas two months ago and is rated as high as 20 to 1 in betting for Wednesday's opener where his opposition will also include the leading Irish hope Forpadydeplasterer. However, Morris insisted yesterday: "He looks to have as good a chance as anything I've taken there - apart from War Of Attrition!"
The idea that Paddy Flood's intended mount has slipped under many people's Cheltenham radar hasn't upset the trainer either and he said: "That suits me fine. He will have to face Trafford Lad off levels this time, instead of getting 7lb, but he has come on a good bit since Naas. I'm quite hopeful and the option of the three-mile race was only there in case the ground came up very hard."
Morris's two other probables are The Gloves Are Off who will be ridden by Davy Russell in the opening Anglo Irish Bank Supreme Novices' Hurdle and War Of The World (Kevin Power) goes in the four-mile National Hunt Chase. Hear The Echo is a possible for the Kim Muir.
The Willie Mullins-Ruby Walsh team look like they could have a very productive afternoon at Thurles today although the featured €45,000 Michael Purcell Novice Hurdle could be destined for elsewhere. Cooldine is the Mullins-Walsh hope for the Grade Two, a two and a half mile event that he bypasses next week's Cheltenham festival for.
He has carried the Florida Pearl colours to victory in his last three starts but today's race looks a good chance for Scavenger to gain some compensation.
The pair met here last January when Scavenger was set to challenge until crashing out at the second last. Mouse Morris's runners hasn't appeared since but better ground this time looks like it could be more in Scavenger's favour than Cooldine's.
Despite that, the quartet of Candy Girl, Rosy Cyborg, Dooneys Gate and Shady Willow look to hold excellent chances.
