LAST season’s Cheltenham Gold Cup runner-up Gerri Colombe is the most high-profile absentee from this year’s race following news from Gordon Elliott that the horse has had a setback that has ruled him out for the remainder of the campaign.

Robcour’s gelding finished just three and a half lengths behind Galopin Des Champs in last year’s Gold Cup and ended the season with Grade 1 success at Aintree in April.

He has run only once this season when finishing third in the Down Royal Champion Chase in November.

“Unfortunately Gerri Colombe has met with a setback which means he will not run again this season,” said Elliott on Monday. “It’s not career ending or especially serious but it’s come at the wrong time of the season, so we’re going to have to rule him out of the spring festivals.

“It’s a big blow for ourselves and the Robcour team but we will concentrate on getting him right for next season when hopefully all roads will lead back to the Gold Cup.”

Bookmakers cut Galopin Des Champs into 1/2 favourite to emulate Best Mate, Arkle, Golden Miller and Cottage Rake by landing a third successive Gold Cup next month. Fifteen horses now stand their ground for the Festival feature with Embassy Gardens and Minella Cocooner also scratched this week along with Il Est Francais. Ahoy Senor was scratched from the Ryanair Chase, the Gold Cup now his only Festival entry.

Il Est Francais

One of the most intriguing horses still to be committed to a definite target at the Festival is French challenger Il Est Francais. The seven-year-old remains in contention for the Champion Chase on March 12th as well as the Ryanair Chase.

Il Est Francais produced a dominant performance to win the 2023 Kauto Star Novices’ Chase at Kempton. He almost completed a Grade 1 double at the track in December when making most of the running in the three-mile King George, only to be caught in the final strides by Banbridge.

Should the front-runner line up in the Champion Chase, it surely poses a dilemma for how the race will be run with Solness making all on his last two Grade 1 wins and Jonbon also being ridden positively on his last two winning starts.

He is 6/1 for the Champion Chase, a market headed by the odds-on Jonbon and he at 5/1 for the Ryanair Chase, in which only Fact To File, also in the Gold Cup, is shorter.

“We’ve left our options open, as it’s very dependent on where everyone else goes and what the ground will be. There can always be a few spanners in the works so we’ll keep our options open.” George said on Racing Post this week.

“Solness was going 35mph in the Dublin Chase all the way around but we were going that speed going down to the first in the King George. I don’t think speed will be an issue but we haven’t made our minds up yet.

“If it comes up heavy then it’ll be the Champion Chase, but we won’t be making a decision until we need to. We’ll be going to the race we feel we have the best chance of winning.”

Blue Lord and Gentleman De Mee have been scratched from the Champion Chase as has American Mike.