Nicky Henderson has withdrawn Sir Gino and Shanagh Bob from tomorrow’s card at the Cheltenham Festival, despite admitting both horses “appear in great shape”.
Sir Gino was the favourite in the Triumph Hurdle while Shanagh Bob was due to go in the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle.
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Henderson has endured a miserable Cheltenham with a series of disappointing performances and the withdrawal of some of his stable stars, including Constitution Hill and Shishkin.
He wrote on X: “Very sadly we have had to make a very tough decision which is not to run Sir Gino in the Triumph Hurdle tomorrow and the same applies to Shanagh Bob in the Albert Bartlett.
“Both horses appear to be in great shape but we cannot ignore the performance of all our horses thought this week and indeed last week as well and we feel it would be crazy to chance it with two very high class young horses with their lives in front of them.
“Joe Donnelly, who owns both of these as well as Shishkin, has been incredibly supportive as have all our owners as well as the media and indeed racing as a whole, and we appreciate that enormously.
“We are very much looking forward to hopefully Aintree and Punchestown as soon as we get the team back to normal.”
Statement from Nicky Henderson pic.twitter.com/GWXmauIVNl
— Nicky Henderson (@sevenbarrows) March 14, 2024
