Calgary Bay is to wait for the John Smith’s Grand National on April 14 after all rather than go for the Betfred Cheltenham Gold Cup on Friday.

Henrietta Knight, who trains the nine-year-old at West Lockinge, near Wantage, revealed earlier this week that owner Tim Radford had put forward the idea of giving the gelding a supplementary entry at a cost of £25,000.

But Knight said last night: “We want to keep him for the National.

“You can’t hurry things, and for the Gold Cup you want to be 110 per cent, and he has not been prepared for the Gold Cup.”