Sprinter Sacre to miss Cheltenham Festival
Popular racehorse Sprinter Sacre will not be at Cheltenham next month to defend his Champion Chase title.
The 8-year-old was ruled out by trainer Nicky Henderson yesterday (Sunday 23 February) as the horse was “not showing the same brilliance as he did last season”.
“It’s terribly disappointing but the right thing to do,” added Nicky. Sprinter Sacre will now be rested before hopefully returning next season.
Sprinter Sacre won the Queen Mother Champion Chase by 19 lengths at last year’s Cheltenham Festival.
He had won 10 chases in a row before being pulled up at Kempton on 27 December due to an irregular heartbeat, which has since corrected itself.
Nicky said the horse will also go to Newmarket for a full “MOT” with vet expert Celia Marr.
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A graduate of Exeter University, Amy joined our news team from Redpin Publishing in 2008 as news writer. She was promoted to deputy news editor in May 2013 and became news editor in April 2015. She left Horse & Hound in March 2016 to take up an editorial position in Dubai.