Macs Joy joins the Festival casualties

Jessica Harrington's top hurdler Macs Joy misses the Festival after injury
14 April 2012

The injury jinx that has struck some of Ireland's leading Cheltenham Festival hopes struck again yesterday when Macs Joy was ruled out of the Champion Hurdle.

Jessica Harrington's gelding has a muscle injury. Runner-up in the race to Brave Inca last season, he was a 10-1 chance, although ground conditions did not favour him.

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Harrington said: "He's pulled a muscle. He is perfectly sound, but not right."

Also out of the Champion is Harchibald, runner-up in 2005. His trainer, Noel Meade, said: "I do not run Harchibald or Jazz Messenger because of the soft ground. My other entry, Iktitaf, had a lung infection last time but seems fine now."

The Irish challenge has lost last season's winner War of Attritrion and In Compliance from the Gold Cup plus the highly-rated Ladbroke World Hurdle hope Celestial Wave to injury in the last week.

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