Our Girl Salley out of Mares Hurdle

Our Girl Salley, third favourite for the David Nicholson Mares Hurdle, has been ruled out of Tuesday's Cheltenham event by trainer Prunella Dobbs.

Speaking this morning, Dobbs said: "Unfortunately, Our Girl Salley won't be going to Cheltenham. She scoped wrong yesterday and we've had to scratch her from the race. It's a shame as we were looking forward to running her.

"You have to have a horse 101 per cent to run at the Festival, so we will just have to give her time to recover and, hopefully, she will be right to run in a mares race at the Fairyhouse Easter meeting."

Our Girl Salley, the winner of three bumpers, is unbeaten over hurdles having won all of her three starts this season.

Another horse that looks set to miss next weeks' Festival is Planet Of Sound, who was as short as 28/1 for the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

The nine-year-old, who won the Grade 1 Punchestown Guinness Gold Cup last season, is suffering with an infection in a hind leg that trainer Philip Hobbs expects to rule him out of his intended run at the Cheltenham Festival.

Hobbs said yesterday: "He is pretty unlikely to get to Cheltenham. There is a tiny hope it can be treated in time for the race but it is very unlikely.

"Yesterday he could hardly put his foot on the ground. Today he could put a bit of weight on it, but you have to get the infection out of it and hope the whole thing doesn't burst and the change of antibiotics works. I am 95 per cent certain he won't get there."

Diamond Harry, this season's Hennessy Gold Cup winner, was officially scratched from the Gold Cup yesterday.

Meanwhile, Bothy, runner-up to Recession Proof in the Totesport Trophy and second favourite for the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle, will contest the Coral Cup at Cheltenham next Wednesday.

Trainer Brian Ellison had made three entries at the meeting for Bothy, also giving the five-year-old an option in the Vincent O'Brien County Hurdle, but has opted for the longer distance of the 2m5f Coral Cup, for which the horse is currently best-price 20/1 (William Hill).

"Bothy goes for the Coral, that's definite," he said. "I honestly don't know if he will get the trip but when he ran in the Fred Winter last year it was too quick for him. I think the step up in distance will help."

Bothy finished seventh in the Fred Winter last year behind Sanctuaire, and ran well on his other start at the course last September when second to Menorah in the Greatwood Hurdle.