Racing: Ed Dunlop's popular mare Ouija Board will not take her chance in Saturday's Emirates Airline Champion Stakes at Newmarket.
Connections had been considering the 10-furlong showpiece for their charge, but with the Headquarters going looking likely to ride on the soft side of good, they have elected to bypass the race.
Ouija Board, last seen finishing a close second in the Irish Champion Stakes, will not be seen in action in Britain again and will now head straight for the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf at Churchill Downs next month.
Explaining the decision to sidestep the Champion, Dunlop said yesterday: "It's rained this morning and there's more rain forecast, and for that reason we're going to wait for America.
"It's a shame we won't be going to the Champion. We would have loved to have run her one more time in Britain but we have to think of what's best for the mare.
"She'll now go straight to the Breeders' Cup and Frankie Dettori will more than likely ride her if he's available," he told the Racing Post.