Brain Power has been surprisingly omitted from Saturday's Betfred Contenders Hurdle at Sandown.
Trainer Nicky Henderson has decided to give the listed race a miss as he does not believe the soft ground will suit the six-year-old, who emerged victorious on his last run at the venue in December.
Henderson tweeted: “Brain Power will NOT run @Sandownpark tomorrow due to the ground.”
The Seven Barrows handler will instead be represented in the contest by the JP McManus-owned Buveur D'air, who will revert back to the smaller obstacles after securing back-to-back victories over fences in December.
The Paul Nicholls-trained Irving, who will be looking to bounce back from a fall at Haydock last month, will also run in the race, as will Oliver Sherwood's charge Rayvin Black, who finished runner up in the contest 12 months ago.
Hurry Henry will complete the quartet of runners, as he looks to bounce back from pulling up on his last outing at Cork in early January.
