'It would be really pushing it to get there' - leading French hurdler Theleme ruled out of Cheltenham Festival

Connections of leading French hurdler Theleme have ruled the multiple Grade 1 winner out of next year's Cheltenham Festival following a setback.

The seven-year-old was disputing favouritism for the Paddy Power Stayers' Hurdle with the eventual winner Teahupoo last season before being ruled out in January. He has not been seen since recording his second victory in Auteuil's Grade 1 Grand Prix d'Automne in November for trainer Arnaud Chaille-Chaille.

Theleme has won five Grade 1s in France, including when beating Klassical Dream and Hewick in France's Champion Hurdle, the Grande Course de Haies, over 3m1½f, in May 2023. He also beat Il Est Francais in a Grade 3 hurdle two months earlier.

"He'll probably be ready for the reopening of Auteuil in the spring but it's unlikely he'll be ready for Cheltenham," said Bertrand le Metayer, who manages the interests of British-based owners the Gordon Family. "We've taken him out of training and he'll be back too late to do Cheltenham right.

"It would be really pushing it to get there. We won't have time for a prep so at this stage it's better to rule him out. He's such an important horse and we don't want to take a risk, so unfortunately that's where we stand at the moment. We need to give him time."

On future plans, Le Metayer added: "The plan is definitely still to bring him to Britain but we've had to postpone that until the end of 2025. He'll be targeted at the Grand Prix d'Automne, which is his usual thing, then probably the Long Walk Hurdle in December before the Cheltenham Festival."

The ante-post market for the Stayers' Hurdle is headed by Teahupoo at 5-2 generally, ahead of Irish Point, Lossiemouth and Theleme, who was as short as 7-1. The most recent French-trained winner was Baracouda, who won the race for a second time in 2003 for trainer Francois Doumen.

Stayers' Hurdle (Cheltenham, Thursday March 13)
William Hill: 5-2 Teahupoo, 7 Irish Point, Lossiemouth, 10 State Man, 14 Strong Leader, 16 bar

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