Long Run will head straight for the Betfred Cheltenham Gold Cup after trainer Nicky Henderson decided against a prep run at Newbury on Saturday.
The Lambourn handler had pencilled in the Betfair Denman Chase as a next port of call for the King George VI Chase winner, following his Kempton success on Boxing Day for owner Robert Waley-Cohen, who lives at Edgehill, near Banbury.
However, Henderson has decided to sidestep the Grade 2 heat, which Long Run won last year, as he is not keen to run the eight-year-old on testing ground.
“We are under no pressure, so we will go our own way,” he said.
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