BETFAIR Hurdle ante-post favourite Hunters Call is unlikely to run in the Newbury contest.
Trainer Olly Murphy is instead set to send him straight to the Cheltenham Festival after his Ascot win, but he will also get an entry in the Betfair Hurdle.
Murphy said: “All being well, Hunters Call will head straight to the Cheltenham Festival.
“He will have an entry in the Betfair, but he has gone up another 9lb and it is not easy to win two big handicaps let alone three and while the Betfair has great prize money, there is only one Cheltenham Festival.
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“I just feel if he ran well at Newbury and went up another 5lb or 6lb, it would hinder our chances of having a horse with a live chance at the Cheltenham Festival.
“He will have entries in the Coral Cup, Martin Pipe and County Hurdle and we will make a plan nearer the time.
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“I would certainly not be worried about stepping him up in trip. As soon as Jack Kennedy got off him at Ascot, he said the Coral Cup is the race he would go for.
“There are lots of options at Cheltenham and I will sit down with the owners and discuss things over the next six weeks.”
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