A Dream To Share ruled out of hurdling debut

National Hunt fanatics will no longer see A Dream To Share make his eagerly-anticipated hurdling debut at Punchestown on Wednesday with the five-year-old ruled out due to a stone bruise.

Racecourse : Punchestown (Ireland)
Racecourse : Punchestown (Ireland) Picture: Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images

The John and Thomas Kiely-trained star was the star of the bumper division last season winning all five of his starts, which included two Grade 1 victories at Cheltenham and Punchestown.

Speaking at Punchestown on Tuesday afternoon, Frank Berry, racing manager to owner JP McManus, said: "A Dream To Share won't be running tomorrow. He has a stone bruise."

A Dream To Share remains the general 7/2 favourite for next year's Supreme Novices Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.

Elsewhere on the Punchestown card, owner JP McManus will be hoping his Hercule Du Seuil can continue the winning thread over fences and stamp his class in the Grade 3 BetVictor Proud Sponsors Of Irish Racing Novice Chase.

"He's taken to jumping very well and has done everything that has been asked of him so far. We'll just see how he gets on Wednesday and take it from there," said Berry.

"He's won on good ground; he's won on heavy ground, but I think the big thing with him is that he's learned how to settle. He's certainly going the right way.

"The handicappers tend to give the summer horses very high marks now. Sometimes they can get a bit lost when the better horses come out so let's see how he gets on."

Hercule Du Seuil is a 1/2 shot with Paddy Power to record a fifth-straight success over fences


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