Hansard reporting for Kingwell duty

Hansard is set to be diverted to the BetMGM Kingwell Hurdle at Wincanton on Saturday, having been forced to miss Newbury’s William Hill Hurdle last weekend.

Gary and Josh Moore’s seven-year-old had previously won the 2023 Gerry Feilden at Newbury and was fancied to again make his presence felt at the Berkshire track.

However, his name was absent from the final list of runners for the valuable £155,000 handicap following unsatisfactory blood test results.

Owned by the Noel Fehily Racing Syndicates, he will now test the waters once again at Grade Two level, having finished second in the Elite Hurdle on his previous visit to Wincanton.

Fehily said: “His bloods weren’t 100 per cent right, so he’ll go to the Kingwell at Wincanton.

“They weren’t bad but going into a race like that, carrying plenty of weight, there was no point, so he will be fine for a week later.

“We were really looking forward to running at Newbury, as he’s won at the track before and I thought being a strong traveller, the race would suit.

“We’d have loved to run him, but if he’s not 100 per cent right in a race like that, you are wasting your time. Hopefully he will be right this weekend.”

Hansard was one of six entries made for the Kingwell Hurdle on Monday, with James Owen’s Burdett Road the likely favourite after finishing third behind Constitution Hill and Lossiemouth in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton on Boxing Day.

Kerry Lee could saddle her stable star Nemean Lion, who was last seen edging out Salver in a valuable contest at Windsor, while Jeremy Scott is planning to step back in trip with his Cheltenham Festival heroine Golden Ace, who has twice come up short over longer distances so far this season.

Harry Derham’s Brentford Hope and the Ben Pauling-trained Fiercely Proud are the other contenders.