Mark Walsh to miss rest of Cheltenham Festival after fall

Mark Walsh has been ruled out for the remainder of the Cheltenham Festival after suffering a fall in the opening race on the second day of the meeting.Walsh was partnering Consul De Thaix in the Neptune Investment Management Novices' Hurdle when the horse sustained a fatal fall at the sixth-last flight.Consul De Thaix is trained by Nicky Henderson and owned by JP McManus, for whom Walsh is a retained jockey.The rider was initially stood down for the day but theowner's racing manager Frank Berry later said: "Mark won't ride again this week." Walsh was due to partner Uxizandre in Thursday's Ryanair Chase and Jessica Harrington's Jezki in the Stayers' Hurdle on the same afternoon.He was also booked to ride More Of That in the Cheltenham Gold Cup on Friday."We'll talk about who will ride after racing," Berry added. Clerk of the course Simon Claisse had earlier said Walsh was being assessed for a "concussive head injury."