Ad Hoc misses Wincanton

Ad Hoc misses tomorrow`s 40th Running Of The Badger Brewery Handicap Chase at Wincanton and will instead head straight for next month`s Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup at Newbury.

Sir Robert Ogden, who owns Ad Hoc, will now rely on Enrique in tomorrow`s Stg£40,000 contest.

Ad Hoc had been due to shoulder 12st at Wincanton and Ogden`s racing manager Barry Simpson explained the decision.

He said: 'It`s a hard race and Ad Hoc would have been starting the season with a big weight. He`s not a big horse and we think he would be better in a race like the Hennessy with a lighter weight.

'We took a view about him and having given it a lot of thought and discussed it with Sir Robert we decided to go for the Hennessy and give this a miss tomorrow.'

Eight horses have been declared for the Wincanton race and Ad Hoc`s trainer Paul Nicholls will be represented by Montifault, who has been aimed at the extended-three-mile-one-furlong contest for some time.

'It`s always been his target from the day he came in from the field,' said Nicholls.

'Touch wood, he`s jumped beautifully so far. We are very pleased with him. He`s only six and we`d like a good run to go on from here.'

Nicholls runs his promising four-year-old Azertyuiop in the K J Pike & Sons Elite Hurdle earlier on the card but the Ditcheat trainer said the French-bred gelding would benefit from the outing.

He added: 'He`s done well and he`s in good form. He seems a lot bigger and stronger than last season.

'He`s taken a lot to get fit and win, lose or draw he`ll improve.

'The idea was to go here and then run him in the Bula Hurdle at Cheltenham in the middle of next month.

'He`s done plenty of work but he`s definitely not fully wound up.'