Walkover for Paul Nicholls' Captain Teague at Exeter

Paul Nicholls' highly-regarded Captain Teague was the beneficiary of a walkover at Exeter after his two declared rivals were pulled out of the ICL Conscious Of Our Impact 'Future Stars’ Silver Bowl Novices’ Chase on account of the ground.

On going officially described as good, Dan Skelton withdrew his scheduled remaining runners on the card – bar Etalon in the Haldon Gold Cup – after his runner in the opener, Jack Black, was pulled up.

Skelton was due to run Grade Two novice hurdle winner Deafening Silence against Captain Teague, but he was among the withdrawals and while it looked as if Sue Gardner’s Daring Plan would take his chance, he failed to appear in the paddock and was subsequently withdrawn.

"We were waiting for the other horse to come in, but it’s a bizarre situation," Nicholls told ITV Racing.

"Sue thinks the ground is fast enough, I’d say the chase track might be slippery which is my concern, I thought they were slipping in the first over hurdles as it’s mizzly (on top of good ground).

"It’s no one’s fault, it’s just the weather. We had all that rain a few weeks ago then it has just dried up. Exeter is not a track that is easy to water.

"Welfare of the horses is the big issue and Sue obviously feels it is the right thing, and so does Dan, not to run theirs today.

"We’ve got a walkover but we haven’t learned anything so it saves him for another day."

Nicholls stressed he could understand the decisions of his fellow trainers, and admitted the ground was quick enough.

He said: "You can’t take any chances, to be honest I’d say it was borderline whether it is safe enough on the chase track, it is probably good to firm. If you’ve a horse who wants a bit of cut you are probably not going to run.

"We were prepared to take a