Silviniaco to skip National

Paul Nicholls says it is unlikely Silviniaco Conti will run in this year’s Grand National and will instead compete in the Betfred Bowl.

The Ditcheat trainer has been weighing up what to do with the six-time Grade One winner since he was pulled up at Kempton when going for a third successive King George VI title.

The 10-year-old was included in the list of 126 preliminary entries for this year’s Grand National last week and Nicholls had said he would wait to see what mark Silviniaco Conti was given by the handicapper before making a decision on his participation.

However, while revealing that the French gelding will next be in action in the Betfair Ascot Chase on February 20, Nicholls also suggested he would skip the showpiece of the Aintree meeting and focus on the Bowl instead, a race Silviniaco Conti has won for the last two years.

Nicholls said: “He’s going to run in the Betfair Ascot Chase a week on Saturday, which is a little bit of a change of plan.

“He’s not in the Gold Cup, but although he’s in the World Hurdle, I don’t really want to go to Cheltenham with him.

“He’s potentially got two targets later in the season at Aintree. He’s got an entry in the National but that is only a tentative entry and he’s more than likely to run in the Bowl, the race he has won the last two seasons.

“Then he’ll go to Punchestown and the National could be something we look at in 12 months‘ time.”