Willie Mullins pulls two huge horses out of Cheltenham Festival as he slashes number of runners across races

WILLIE MULLINS has pulled two huge names out of Cheltenham Festival altogether - as he slashed his number of runners across several key races.

The Closutton boss will not run Brighton supremo Tony Bloom's Ile Atlantique at next month's blockbuster meeting after he was scratched from the Arkle and Brown Advisory Novices' Chase.

And multiple Grade 1-winning machine Impaire Et Passe, owned by Simon Munir and Isaac Souede, won't be on the boat either, after he was cut from the same two races.

Mullins has taken a sword to his masses of runners across the four-day Festival.

Today marked the scratching stage for a number of Grade 1 contests, including the novice races.

Another big name to miss out was Mistergif, who was third fav for the Arkle but removed from that race.

It means, after the sad news that odds-on fav Sir Gino was also gone from the race with an infected wound, two of the top three in the market are missing, leaving Mullins' Majborough head and shoulders above the rest.

Below is every runner Mullins has pulled from each race today.

Most, if not all, have multiple entries, which means their target is being narrowed down rather than they are missing Cheltenham altogether.

Willie Mullins' scratched runners

Supreme Novices' Hurdle

Belloccio
C'Est Ta Chance
Final Demand
Kaid D'Authie
Kalix Delabarriere
Karafon
Redemption Day
Soir De Garde
Zillow

Arkle

Ile Atlantique
Impaire Et Passe
Mistergif

Champion Hurdle

Anzadam
Kitzbuhel
Kargese

Turners Novices' Hurdle

Belloccio
C'Est Ta Chance
Irancy
Jasmin De Vaux
Kalix Delabarriere
Karafon
Karniquet
Soir De Garde

Brown Advisory

Chapeau De Soleil
Ile Atlantique
Impaire Et Passe

Stayers' Hurdle

Gala Marceau

Triumph Hurdle

Legionnaire Forez
Lincoln Du Seuil

Albert Bartlett

C'Est Ta Chance

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