Carruthers out of Hennessy

Carruthers, a leading fancy for the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury on Saturday, will not run after scoping dirty yesterday.

The six-year-old had been due to try to provide former leading amateur rider Lord Oaksey with a second win in the Hennessy some 51 years after he rode Taxidermist to victory.

Oaksey - who was known as John Lawrence when landing the 1958 renewal - went on to be a leading racing writer and broadcaster and was bought Carruthers' dam Plaid Maid as a retirement present.

Carruthers advertised his powers with a game fourth in last year's RSA Chase but has been scratched from the Hennessy following a dirty scope.

Sara Bradstock, Oaksey's daughter and wife of trainer Mark, said: "He won't be running. He had a mucky scope this morning which has broken everybody's hearts.

"It was just a precautionary scope after working this morning but it was mucky and for a race like this you need to be 100%."

Meanwhile the Queen's Barbers Shop will sport cheekpieces for the first time in the Hennessy. Trainer Nicky Henderson has taken advice from stable jockeys past and present with Mick Fitzgerald, Tony McCoy and Barry Geraghty all advising the seven-year-old will improve for the application of headgear.

Henderson confirmed: "We are going to put some cheekpieces on him. Mick said at Cheltenham two years ago that one day he will need them. AP schooled him the other day and Barry has also said it, so we are going to do it. I think it will just sharpen him up a little bit. I think his courage is there but he just needs to get into his own zone."

Barbers Shop has been a Hennessy market mover in recent days and the royal runner is just 11-2 with the bookmakers behind 4-1 favourite Denman. He receives 18lb from the market leader and was last seen finishing around 19 lengths behind Denman when seventh in the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March.

Henderson swerved the Paddy Power Gold Cup and Betfair Chase to run in the Hennessy, and added: "Haydock (Betfair Chase) didn't look like a sensible option on paper."

"Looking at the Hennessy there are a lot of horses you could get frightened about, but even to an eejit trainer like Henderson it is obvious that if you have 10st 8lb against Denman on 11st 12lb then what on earth was the point of taking on Kauto Star at level weights (at Haydock)."

"We think three miles suits us better than two and a half so the Paddy Power wasn't going to help. Denman is the horse they have to beat as he is a class horse but we cannot pretend to be a Grade One horse if we cannot give him a race at these weights."