A Plus Tard will head straight to Cheltenham after Henry de Bromhead made a late decision to miss Saturday’s Dublin Chase at Leopardstown.

A winner at Grade One level over Christmas, beating Chacun Pour Soi he looked a fascinating contender.

However, the drying ground caused De Bromhead to rethink the run and he erred on the side of caution.

“It’s a combination of the ground and that trip,” he told Racing TV.

“Two miles is pretty sharp for him. It was soft at Christmas so it all fell right for him, but today it seems a good bit better, so we said we’d give it a miss.

“I don’t see any necessity to run again before Cheltenham, he’s in mighty form, but I spoke to Chris Richardson (racing manager for owner Cheveley Park Stud) and we agreed to forget today.”