Sir Gino eases in Arkle betting after being ruled out of Saturday's Game Spirit Chase at Newbury

Sir Gino will not run in the William Hill Best Odds Guaranteed Game Spirit Chase (3.00) at Newbury on Saturday.

The exciting Arkle favourite was odds-on for his second chase start and first foray over fences in open company but was declared a non-runner at around 10am, with the official reasoning being 'sore'.

Speaking to the Racing Post, his trainer Nicky Henderson said: "He was perfectly fine on Thursday and he came back from his exercise perfectly all right. He just had a bang on his hind leg in the evening, which is sore.

"We think, and hope, he’ll be all right by Monday, but there’s no race for him on Monday. He’s not going to be doing anything for 24 hours and he’ll be working on the water treadmill for a couple of days, and I hope he’ll be back in action. It’s what our vets think."

Sir Gino has been pushed out to 8-11 from 4-6 for the Arkle at the Cheltenham Festival, with his principal rival Majborough cut to 7-4 from 9-4 in light of the news. Henderson is now pondering where – if anywhere – to run the five-year-old before next month's showdown.

• What are Sir Gino's pre-Arkle options and can he still win at Cheltenham after just one run over fences? 

"As normal, this programme doesn’t allow for things like this to happen," the trainer said. "It might force us to go two and a half miles, which I really don’t want to do. There is also a new two-mile chase at Bangor, but that’s after Kempton and it’s too close to Cheltenham. If you can’t run before March you can’t."

Nicky Henderson: "We think, and hope, he’ll be all right by Monday"Credit: Edward Whitaker

Sir Gino, who began his season by winning the Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle, missed last season's festival and a clash with Majborough in the Triumph Hurdle due to the poor form of the Seven Barrows yard.

Coral's David Stevens said: "All racing fans will be hoping Sir Gino's absence from Newbury is just a temporary setback as he is one of the most exciting jumpers in training, but clearly missing the Game Spirit is not ideal. As a result, we have eased his Arkle odds slightly, albeit he remains odds-on favourite for the race."

In Sir Gino's absence, impressive Windsor handicap winner Matata has been made the 2-1 favourite for the Game Spirit Chase. He heads a field of five including last year's 40-length winner Edwardstone and Libberty Hunter.

The Arkle picture could still change on Saturday, with L'Eau Du Sud, the general 10-1 third favourite, set to contest the Grade 2 Kingmaker Novices' Chase (2.05) against Rubaud at Warwick.

Arkle Novices' Chase latest betting
Coral: 8-11 Sir Gino, 7-4 Majborough, 9 L'Eau Du Sud, 14 Impaire Et Passe, 20 Ballyburn, Jango Baie, Springwell Bay, 25 Firefox, Ile Atlantique, Mistergif, Only By Night, 33 bar.

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What are Sir Gino's pre-Arkle options and can he still win at Cheltenham after just one run over fences? 

'You can't find too many faults in him' - who can take advantage of Sir Gino's absence in the Game Spirit? 

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