King George winner Hewick ruled out of Friday’s Cheltenham Gold Cup

Shark Hanlon revealed on Thursday lunchtime that his bargain-buy King George hero would not take his chance in the Boodles Gold Cup at the Cheltenham Festival tomorrow.

The trainer walked the course on Thursday but decided conditions were too testing for his nine-year-old to run in the Blue Riband three-mile two-and-a-half-furlong chase.

Hanlon said: "I've walked the track and I think it's too soft for him to do himself justice. We've said all along that he needs good ground to be at his best and we have to do the right thing by the horse. It's an awful shame as he's been flying, but there is nothing we can do about the weather.

"He's a horse of a lifetime, but he just needs decent ground and he's not going to get that on Friday. It's soft."