Altior has been ruled out of Wednesday’s Queen Mother Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival.
Trainer Nicky Henderson revealed that the 11-year-old returned an unsatisfactory scope after he coughed following exercise this morning.
Altior has won the race twice before as well as the Arkle and the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle,
This is the second time the horse has been withdrawn as it happened last year as well with the horse having a splint the weekend before the race.
Nicky Henderson released the news on Twitter this morning:
“We are very sorry that we have taken the decision not to run Altior in the Champion Chase on Wednesday”
“He coughed after exercise this morning, which caused us to scope him, and as a result of what we have seen it would not be sensible to run him.”
Full tweet below:
A bitter blow to the whole team, it is heartbreaking to be unable to run Altior @CheltenhamRaces for the second year in a row. pic.twitter.com/Tm538Ni4fF
— Nicky Henderson (@sevenbarrows) March 15, 2021
Meanwhile, the going on the course has been described as soft, good to soft in places following unexpected rainfall of 10 millimeters overnight.
