Gold Cup hero A Plus Tard ruled out of Savills Chase with banged joint

Henry de Bromhead hopes A Plus Tard will be "fine in a few days" after a banged joint forced his Cheltenham Gold Cup hero to miss the Grade 1 Savills Chase at Leopardstown.

The eight-year-old was bidding to win the race for a second time following success in 2020 but suffered an injury and was subsequently withdrawn on veterinary advice.

De Bromhead's three-time Grade 1 winner was last seen when pulling up in the Betfair Chase at Haydock, a poor run attributed to travel-related illness.

The trainer said: "It was frustrating but he's banged his joint and we didn't want to risk him. The vets are going to dig deeper and he's moving perfect, but he's just given his joint a bang. It's a bit angry-looking. We were mad to run him, but hopefully he'll be fine.

"Hopefully, it's a thing of nothing and he'll be fine in a few days' time. I know we've done the right thing for the horse. The most important thing is that we have him right."

A Plus Tard is the latest to join a lengthy injury list for owners Cheveley Park. Ferny Hollow has been ruled out for the season, Sir Gerhard suffered a setback that means he could miss the Cheltenham Festival and Allaho has not raced since April.

A Plus Tard remains a best-priced 9-1 for the Gold Cup behind favourite Galopin Des Champs, the general 7-4 favourite.

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