Shark Hanlon has withdrawn Hewick from Friday's Gold Cup, the latest high profile withdrawal from this year's Cheltenham Festival.
Trainer Hanlon, who has enjoyed massive success with the €850 horse, took the decision after inspecting the Cotswolds track this morning.
"After walking the track this morning, we have decided Hewick will not run in the Gold Cup tomorrow While this is disappointing but we are doing what's best for the horse," he wrote on X.
While not among the favourites, Hewick did win the King George VI at Kempton over Christmas and has spent his career overcoming the odds.
Earlier Sir Gino, the long-time ante-post favourite for the JCB Triumph Hurdle, was declared a non-runner on the final day of the Cheltenham Festival.
His absence is the latest blow for trainer Nicky Henderson, who has endured a trying week with four of his five runners on Tuesday pulled up, as well as Jingko Blue in Wednesday's Gallagher Novices’ Hurdle.
Having already taken Shishkin out of the Gold Cup and Jonbon out of the Champion Chase, with Constitution Hill ruled out of the Champion Hurdle last week, Henderson’s biggest hope of the Festival now joins them on the sidelines.
Albert Bartlett contender Shanagh Bob has also been withdrawn and the Seven Barrows team will try to get their stars back on song for Aintree or Punchestown.
In a statement on X, Henderson said: "Very sadly we have had to make a very tough decision which is not to run Sir Gino in the Triumph Hurdle tomorrow and the same applies to Shanagh Bob in the Albert Bartlett.
"Both horses appear to be in great shape but we cannot ignore the performance of all our horses throughout this week and indeed last week as well and we feel it would be crazy to chance it with two very high class young horses with their lives in front of them.
"Joe Donnelly who owns both of these as well as Shishkin has been incredibly supportive as have all our owners as well as the media and indeed racing as a whole, and we appreciate that enormously.
"We are very much looking forward to hopefully Aintree and Punchestown as soon as we get the team back to normal."
