ALTIOR will NOT run in the Tingle Creek after his trainer Nicky Henderson pulled the plug on his eagerly anticipated reappearance.
After discussions late on Friday, the handler made the call on the account of the bad ground.
The four-time Festival winner had been the warm favourite for Saturday’s feature at Sandown.
But after a defeat to Cyrname last season on soft ground, the Seven Barrows team don’t want to take the same chance.
Henderson said: “It is with a heavy heart we have decided that Altior is not going to run. We simply don’t want to bottom him again given what happened last year.
“Everyone has seen how testing the ground was today and we’re not going to ask him to do it again.
“We’re very sorry to everyone who was looking forward to seeing him and it was a very tough decision for the Pughs, but we’ve got to do the best thing by the horse.
It leaves trainer Paul Nicholls with two strong hands in the Grade 1.
Champion Chase winner Politologue and the improving Greaneteen will vye for favouritism after the late Friday news.
Henderson had been tempted to make the call on Saturday but decided it was best to make the decison early.
He added: “It’s tough, and if there was any further rain forecast we may have left the decision until the morning, but it will be very holding ground and very hard work.
“We’ve been talking all night, we started off at 50-50 but we’re not even 90-10 now – he won’t run.
“Sadly, the horse could not be in better form so we’ll look at either Kempton or Ascot for him next.”
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