Best Mate, the rising star of Henrietta Knight's West Lockinge stables near Wantage, is to go straight for the Tote Cheltenham Gold Cup without a prep race.
Knight had put forward the Aon Chase at Newbury on February 9 as a possible warm-up.
But yesterday she ruled it out, explaining that the Jim Lewis-owned seven-year-old is very easy to get fit.
And she added: "Mr Lewis is going away in February and we were not going to run them while he was away, so both Best Mate and Edredon Bleu go straight to Cheltenham."
Knight, meanwhile, reported that a few of her horses were coughing, although she was boosted by Fragrant Rose, ridden by Robert Biddlecombe, winning Taunton's bumper.
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