Moore waits on Ar Mad decision

Gary Moore has revealed he will wait for as long as possible before deciding if Ar Mad features at the Cheltenham Festival.

The West Sussex handler had to rule the seven-year-old out of the Ascot Chase on Saturday week because of an injury setback.

Moore is now switching his attention to next month’s Festival in the Cotswolds where Ar Mad holds entries in the Queen Mother Champion Chase and the Ryanair Chase.

It will be a blow if Ar Mad fails to feature, given he missed out last year due to injury, while he has only featured once this term in the Tingle Creek at Sandown in December.

Moore said: “He is okay but we are just taking it day by day with him. He definitely won’t make Ascot, so it will be a case of getting him ready for Cheltenham.

“I don’t know which race he will go for there yet. We will take each day as it comes with him. These horses are animals and not machines.”