Straight to Cheltenham for Sire

Sire De Grugy is heading straight for the Queen Mother Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival after trainer Gary Moore ruled out running his stable star at Newbury on Saturday week.

The eight-year-old has enjoyed a fantastic season so far, winning four of his five starts including the Tingle Creek at Sandown, the Desert Orchid Chase at Kempton and most recently the Clarence House Chase at Ascot in brilliant style.

Given his liking for testing conditions, it would have been no surprise to see Gary Moore's stable star targeted at the Betfair Cash Out Chase, better known as the Game Spirit, at Newbury on February 8, but the trainer's thoughts are firmly on the Festival.

Moore said: "He's definitely going straight to Cheltenham. I wouldn't want to run him at Newbury.

"He appears to be in good form. He's only been back a couple of days having had a few days away from the yard for a bit of a change, but he seems fine."