One of the most popular jumpers in training will miss the £1m Grand National, reducing British hopes of a home winner. L’Homme Presse, trained by Venetia Williams, won has won nine times, eight over fences including the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase at the 2022 Cheltenham Festival.
He finished fourth in last year’s Cheltenham Gold Cup and he was set to have another tilt at the prize in the wake of his latest big race victory in the Cotswold Chase at Cheltenham in January.
However he was pulled up in his final warm-up race in the Betfair Ascot Chase and was then taken out of the Gold Cup due to training issue. Williams told the Racing Post at the time, “We’ve just had a little bit of a problem in the last two days, so we’re not going to Cheltenham.
“He seems good today, but he’s missed a few days of work and it’s not the right preparation for the Gold Cup. All being well we’ll try and go to Aintree, where he could go for the Grand National.”
L’Homme Presse was the second highest rated British challenger in the Grand National field, behind only stablemate Royale Pagaille.
But on Thursday his co-owner Andy Edwards declared that connections had now conceded defeat in the race to get ready for the National on Saturday week.
Andy Edwards, who owns the 10-year-old alongside Pam Sharman, Ray Sharman and Peter and Patricia Pink, told the PA news agency: “Sadly L’Homme Presse will not run in the Grand National. He is sound and fine, but we just ran out of time. We are bitterly disappointed not to be running next weekend”
L’Homme Presse has long been one of Britain’s leading staying chasers and finished third in the King George VI Chase on his seasonal reappearance at Kempton on Boxing Day.
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