Ante-post favourite Denman was withdrawn from the John Smith's Grand National this morning on the back of a disappointing performance and first-ever defeat over fences on Saturday.

Paul Nicholls, who will now focus on readying Denman for a repeat victory in the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March, phoned British Horseracing Authority handicapper Phil Smith last night to inform him of the decision and give Smith more time to frame the weights for the Aintree showpiece, which will be unveiled at a ceremony in London tomorrow.

Denman would still have headed the weights for the race on 4 April despite being beaten 23 lengths by Madison Du Berlais on his seasonal reappearance at Kempton as he has a BHA rating of 182. That position will now go to Jonjo O'Neill's Exotic Dancer, who is rated 174.

Nicholls spoke to joint-owners Harry Findlay and Paul Barber last night and officially scratched the nine-year-old from the £900,000 contest this morning.

The champion trainer said: “He's absolutely fine. I had a chat with Paul and Harry last night and collectively we decided that it was the right thing to do this year in the circumstances of the run on Saturday at Kempton.

“We are just going to concentrate on getting him right for the Gold Cup.

“Denman's A1, but with the weights coming out on Tuesday, we just wanted to end any speculation and get it sorted out.

“I let the handicapper know last night because, obviously, I didn't want to cause him any unnecessary headaches and to tell him our intentions and we've let everyone know this morning.

“It's not that there's anything wrong with him — he's 100 per cent — and he's come out of the race fine.”

The decision is a sensible one given Denman's problems with a fibrillating heart delaying his comeback and his laboured display at the weekend.
However, it had been a surprise to find bookmakers still making Denman favourite for the Grand National prior to this morning's announcement with doubts mounting about his participation.

In his absence, Mouse Morris's Hear The Echo and O'Neill's Butler's Cabin have taken over as 14-1 market leaders for the four-and-a-half mile marathon with Paddy Power, who make Denman's Kempton conqueror Madison Du Berlais a 16-1 chance.