Penhill will not be defending his Stayers’ Hurdle crown at Cheltenham next month after suffering an injury setback.
The Willie Mullins-trained eight-year-old would have been chasing a third successive win at Prestbury Park having won the Albert Bartlett in 2017 before his Stayers’ success 12 months ago.
Related: Mullins Plans Cheltenham Warm-Up For Chesterfield
However, Mullins has confirmed that Penhill will not feature in his first race of the season on March 14 after a problem was discovered on Wednesday.
Mullins said: “We worked him yesterday and this morning he was very sore.” The news of Penhill’s withdrawal means Paisley Park is now the clear favourite to win the race.
