Henderson heading straight to Cheltenham with RSA favourite Champ

Plans for a run this week scuppered by the weather.

Nicky Henderson has decided not to give Champ another run before the Cheltenham Festival after the weather scuppered plans of a prep outing for the novice chaser.

The Seven Barrows trainer is not overly concerned Champ will miss out on a public outing following the loss of both Wetherby on Wednesday and Kelso on Thursday.

The eight-year-old, owned by JP McManus, is favourite for the RSA Insurance Novices’ Chase, despite blotting his copybook when falling at the second-last fence in the Dipper at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day.

“I was going to back off and go to Wetherby on Wednesday, but that’s gone, as well as Kelso,” said Henderson.

“I have a plan but it won’t involve a race, he won’t run again before Cheltenham, but I’ve sorted out what we are going to do.

“He’s going to have to go somewhere and do various things. If he hadn’t fallen last time I wouldn’t have been thinking about another race in any case. He doesn’t need a run.”

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Nicky Henderson Cheltenham Festival Champ

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