Altior to skip rearranged Newbury date

Nicky Henderson has confirmed that Altior won’t be attending next weekend’s rearranged Newbury meeting with Cheltenham the next target.

Saturday’s Newbury fixture had to be abandoned due to the ongoing cold snap across the UK and organisers have worked hard to ensure it can go ahead next Sunday.

Henderson was intending to take several of his charges to the initial event, including stable star Altior, who was set to run in the Game Spirit ahead of an attempt to reclaim his crown in next month’s Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham.

However, the Seven Barrows handler says the 11-year-old won’t be in attendance after opting for a change of plan, but Gold Cup contender Champ will still make the trip along with Buzz and Mister Coffey.

In a statement posted on his Twitter feed on Sunday, he said: “First of all I would like to congratulate Newbury, the sponsors, the BHA and ITV for rearranging yesterday’s Super Saturday card.

“They have done a fantastic job under difficult circumstances and we are keen to support the meeting as best as we can, so with that in mind, the intention is still for Buzz, Mister Coffey and now possibly Fred as well to take their chance in the Betfair Hurdle.

“With regards to Altior and Champ, under the current circumstances and having discussed the situation in detail with all connections involved, we have come to the conclusion that Altior will head straight to the Cheltenham Festival without a run beforehand.

“He is in excellent form, but he does tend to take his races quite hard and we have therefore decided to continue his preparation at home and almost certainly an away-day at some stage in the next 10 days.”