Cheltenham Festival: Sharjah to miss Champion Hurdle

Two-time Unibet Champion Hurdle runner-up Sharjah will miss the race following the latest forfeit stage for the major Cheltenham Festival races.

Sharjah has been second in hurdling's blue riband event for the last years and was most recently seen winning the Matheson Hurdle at Leopardstown's Christmas meeting for the fourth time.

Trainer Willie Mullins told Sporting Life: "Unfortunately Sharjah won’t make Cheltenham and has been taken out of the race.

"The aim is to get him back for Punchestown, a track where he has already won the Morgiana Hurdle twice."

Elsewhere, Nicky Henderson's 10-year-old Champ has been taken out of the Boodles Gold Cup as connections concentrate on the Paddy Power Stayers' Hurdle.

Champ is already a winner at the big meeting having come from an unpromising position to land the 2020 RSA (now Brown Advisory) Chase, but was pulled up in the Gold Cup last season and it subsequently emerged he was suffering with a back issue.

The JP McManus-owned gelding started out this season back over the smaller obstacles, where he recorded an impressive success in the Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot. He has also has since run with credit in the Cleeve Hurdle, when second to Paisley Park.

"I think it just looked the obvious thing to do, he’s got to stay over hurdles now," said Henderson.

"We’ve got Chantry House for the Gold Cup, we’re very happy with him. We all had a talk about it and the Stayers’ Hurdle just looks the right race for Champ."

Veteran stablemate Buveur D’Air has also been taken out of his two engagements at the Festival, in the Champion and Stayers’ Hurdles, and he now has the Aintree Hurdle, which he won back in 2017, as his aim.

"There’s nothing wrong with Buveur, we’ve only really had major objective with him