Gold Cup hope Monkfish set to miss first half of the season

Willie Mullins has indicated dual Cheltenham Festival winner Monkfish could be forced to wait until at least the second half of the jumps season to make his return from injury.

Susannah Ricci's star chaser had been vying for favouritism in the 2022 Cheltenham Gold Cup market in September before it was revealed he would miss the whole of last season due to a tendon issue.

Monkfish is priced between 12-1 and 16-1 for next year's showpiece, which sees stablemate Galopin Des Champs as a general 7-2 favourite, but it appears unlikely the 2021 Brown Advisory Novices' Chase winner will be seen during the early winter exchanges of the campaign.

Ricci's deeply exciting eight-year-old, who also won the 2020 Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle, has not been seen since being turned over by Colreevy in the Dooley Insurance Group Champion Novice Chase at Punchestown in April 2021.

Mullins said: "He's not going to be trained for the early part of the season. It's still a possibility that he could be back for the second half of the campaign. He's making progress in his recovery."

Monkfish: won the 2021 Brown Advisory Novices' Chase in front of largely empty Cheltenham grandstandsCredit: Edward Whitaker

Ireland's 16-time champion trainer has in the past been well able to strike with his stars at the Cheltenham Festival while negotiating a light campaign.

Quevega famously won the Mares' Hurdle on six occasions, with five of those victories coming after breaks of at least 296 days, while Al Boum Photo plundered back-to-back Cheltenham Gold Cups after just one previous run in each season when landing the Savills New Year's Day Chase at Tramore.

Penhill also notably defied a 323-day absence when landing the 2018 Stayers' Hurdle.

2023 Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup

BoyleSports: 7-2 Galopin Des Champs, 4 A Plus Tard, 8 Allaho, Ahoy Senor, 12 L'Homme Presse, 14 Monkfish, 16 Stattler, 20 Capodanno, Ferny Hollow, 25 bar

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