One of racing's most successful trainers has threatened not to bring horses to the Cheltenham Festival in future over concerns about the quality of the ground.

Willie Mullins withdrew Fact To File shortly before Thursday's feature race, the Ryanair Chase, as he did not think the ground was soft enough.

Fact To File was favourite in the betting markets for the race, having won the event at Cheltenham last year.

But Mullins said they decided not to race this year as they felt the ground was too hard and that promises from Cheltenham organisers to water the course had not been kept, putting his horse's safety at risk.

"We think the ground is not good enough for the type of individual we are buying, we are trying to race. If the ground is like this, we are not going to bring them," Mullins told Racing TV.

"We were promised watering, and I'm not sure that has been done so I am a little annoyed about that.…