'I'd have to be bound and gagged to run him ' - Sir Mark Prescott rules fancied bottomweight out of Cesarewitch

Sir Mark Prescott said he would have to be "bound and gagged" to run the fancied Warmonger in Saturday’s Club Godolphin Cesarewitch as he explained his reasons for leaving only one horse in the famous Newmarket handicap.

Warmonger was on Wednesday as short as 10-1 to win the 2m2f contest, which Prescott has been trying to land for 50 years.

The three-year-old has been on a prolific run, winning four of his last five races and finishing second in the other. But the trainer will instead rely on 25-1 chance Trooper Bisdee.

Despite being put up 7lb for winning by four and a quarter lengths at Kempton last time, Warmonger is on a mark of only 86 in the Cesarewitch, which means he has been allotted just 7st 5lb on the long handicap, with a 4lb penalty taking him to 7st 9lb.

Prescott, however, does not think this is enough. He said: “As it stands Warmonger has no racing weight and off 8st 2lb he would have to run in the Cesarewitch from 7lb out of the handicap and I would have to be bound and gagged to allow him to run as that’s not how we do things at Heath House. 

“It’s a shame and to avoid any change of plans the horse is now in a field and will be back next year. My pursuit of the race goes on, although we will still be running Trooper Bisdee, who didn’t go fast enough in front in the trial race [when fourth] there the other day.”

Prescott has had five beaten favourites in the Cesarewitch, including 3-1 shot Hasten To Add, who finished fourth in 1993.

He said: “I suppose I’ll be getting my annual email from a fella who says how useless I am for not winning the Cesarewitch and keeps the statistics to prove it. I think the reason they get beat is that either they’ve done their winning through the year or that they are too keen and don’t get home.”

Club Godolphin Cesarewitch (3.40 Newmarket, Saturday)

bet365: 7-2 Sea Of Sands, 7 Jacovec Cavern, 9 Sixandahalf, 10 The Shunter, 12 Premiere Ligne, 14 Dawn Rising, Ndaawi, Run For Oscar, 16 Manxman, Spirit Rising, 25 bar

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