Sam heads straight to Cheltenham

Lord Sam, one of the main candidates for the Royal & SunAlliance Chase at the Cheltenham Festival, is to go straight for the race without another run.

Victor Dartnall wants to keep his Kempton winner, who is the general 6-1 second favourite for the race, as fresh as he can.

The trainer said: “Lord Sam was to have had an entry this week but I’ve decided to go straight to Cheltenham with him.

“I want him to be as fresh as possible and if I run him again on testing ground there is the chance he would have the guts dragged out of him.”