World Bid For Supreme

Rule Supreme will miss the totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup on Friday and instead tackle Thursday?s Ladbrokes World Hurdle.

Connections had been mulling their options after last year?s Royal & SunAlliance Chase winner landed the Irish Hennessy last month, when he had Gold Cup favourite Beef Or Salmon a distant second.

However, the nine-year-old has proved equally good over timber, having landed the French Champion Hurdle last summer and finished a close third to Baracouda and Crystal D?Ainay at Windsor in December.

'We have decided to go for the hurdle,' trainer Willie Mullins told Channel 4. 'We looked at the ground and it is drying. With no rain last night and only a little bit forecast we see that by Friday the ground could be fast.

'With Best Mate coming out of the Gold Cup, there could be a huge amount of runners and traffic problems. Last year David (Casey) said he was flat out in the SunAlliance and if he was flat out with all of that traffic, one mistake and the whole thing is over.

'There will only be eight or nine runners in the World Hurdle, if that even, and he jumps hurdles fantastic. That race has been our target all season and there were too many negatives to go for the Gold Cup.

'I hope that he can put it down to Baracouda and he seems in good form.'

(c) PA Sport