Ar Mad out of Cheltenham

Ar Mad is to head to either Aintree or Punchestown after being ruled out of the Cheltenham Festival.

Gary Moore's charge holds entries in the Queen Mother Champion Chase and the Ryanair Chase but his participation at the Festival was thrown into doubt after he met with a little setback in training.

Having been ruled out of the Ascot Chase on Saturday week, Moore had hoped to get the seven-year-old to Cheltenham but he has confirmed he will not be ready in time for the Festival.

"Even though he is coming along nicely, the Cheltenham Festival is going to come too soon and it looks almost certain that we will head straight to Aintree or Punchestown instead," wrote Moore on his Betway blog.

"There is simply no point rushing him back too quickly and you just can't go to Cheltenham undercooked.

"It's a shame, but by giving ourselves that little bit more time he will be spot on for one of those targets."

Moore hopes to send Sire De Gurgy to Chepstow ahead of his run in the Queen Mother Champion Chase but the trainer has warned ground conditions will dictate whether or not he runs.

"The plan for Sire De Grugy is to head back to Chepstow at the end of the month for the handicap he used as a Betway Champion Chase prep two years ago," he added.

"He has had plenty of time off since unseating at Kempton at Christmas time and Chepstow seems to suit him well, as he has won his last two starts at the track.

"Once we get Chepstow out the way, we can start to think about Cheltenham and whether he heads back to the Betway Champion Chase for the fourth consecutive year.

"At this stage, I'd say that he will only run if the word 'soft' appears in the going description."

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