Kerry National off the agenda for Coneygree as ground turns testing

Coneygree, who had been expected to start his season in the Guinness Kerry National at Listowel on Wednesday, will not run in the €175,000 handicap because connections are worried the ground will be too testing.

The 2015 Gold Cup hero, trained by Mark Bradstock, was last seen finishing a fine third in the Punchestown Gold Cup in April, the fragile star's first outing since November.

Listowel's biggest race had been a long-term plan, but the ground –described on Sunday as heavy, soft to heavy in places – means he could be rerouted to Wetherby or Down Royal for his first outing of the season.

"He's not running," revealed Bradstock's wife Sara. "The ground's going to be bottomless and it's heartbreaking because he's really come on since Punchestown and feels fantastic.

"I couldn't be more pleased with him, but we've always said we won't run him on ground we haven't been able to train him on. He's been on the all-weather [at home] and Listowel is going to be really deep.

"The plan will be the next available good ground. You've got the Charlie Hall at Wetherby or the JN Wine at Down Royal, and then you've got the Betfair Chase at Haydock and what was the Hennessy.

"But if we go for one of those first two they might come a bit quick for the other two, and then we might then go straight to the King George.

"He owes us nothing and can run only on ground that's totally suitable – on the slow side of good would be our favoured, anything from good to soft he'd run on, but anything faster he wouldn't, and heavy ground he wouldn't run on."

Coneygree became the first novice since 1974 to win the Gold Cup when powering home under Nico de Boinville two years ago, but injury has prevented him defending his crown in the last two runnings.

Bradstock added: "There's still a Gold Cup engine in him, I'm really confident of that, but we know how fragile he is and won't take any risks."