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Willie Mullins on Thursday dropped the broadest hint that Fact To File will defend his Ryanair Chase title rather than be one of “four bullets” fired by owner JP McManus at the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Supplementing Fact To File for the 3m2f feature has been an option under consideration since the nine-year-old completed a Mullins 1-2-3 in the Irish Gold Cup, defeating Gaelic Warrior and two-time Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Galopin Des Champs at Leopardstown last month. But, having taken Fact To File out of the Gold Cup after making an initial entry for the race, connections appear likely to stick to their guns and leave other McManus contenders, including last year's winner Inothewayurthinkin, to tackle next Friday's feature.

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And the betting markets supported that approach, suggesting Fact To File will be in action next Thursday while Gaelic Warrior will line up for the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup the following afternoon.

“JP has three entries in the Gold Cup,” Mullins told Mirror Racing. “The word this week around Ireland is that [2025 victor] Inothewayurthinkin is working very well.

“He has Inothewayurthinkin and Spillane’s Tower, and I know - I’ve made no bones about it - that I Am Maximus is well up to Gold Cup standard.

“So he has two, if not three, Gold Cup horses there already. Do you think he would want four bullets for one race?”

While Fact To File is odds-on to retain the Ryanair Chase, he can now be backed at 20-1 on betting exchanges for the Gold Cup.

Gaelic Warrior, meanwhile, is 14-1 for the Ryanair Chase in the exchange market, which also saw Lossiemouth on the drift for the Mares’ Hurdle, making a tilt at Tuesday’s Champion Hurdle look the favoured option.

Mullins’ Mighty Park will contest the Skybet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle after he did not feature among the confirmations for the Turners Novices’ Hurdle.