Paul Nicholls’ star Al Ferof to miss Cheltenham

Top trainer Paul Nicholls has lost a major Cheltenham Festival contender.

Al Ferof, who had been entered in the Queen Mother Champion Chase and the Ryanair Chase at Prestbury Park, need surgery on a partially entrapped epiglottis and has been ruled out for at least two months, meaning he will not feature at the Festival, where he was a winner in 2011. There is a silver lining for Irish fans, however, with the 10-year-old horse set to be back and firing in time for the Punchestown Festival at the end of April. Nicholls wrote on his Betfair blog: 'Al Ferof has a minor problem which rules him out of his intended target in the Betfair Ascot Chase on Saturday, and also the Cheltenham Festival. He has a partially entrapped epiglottis which requires minor corrective surgery. 'So Ascot and Cheltenham are ruled out as he will be recovering, but the aim is to get him ready for Aintree and Punchestown.'