Nicky Henderson has revealed that Sir Gino will now be campaigned over fences with a beginners’ chase at Kempton later this month his intended starting point.
The Seven Barrows-based handler had indicated that the four-year-old Grade 1-winning novice, who holds an entry alongside stablemate Constitution Hill in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle later in the month, was set to remain over hurdles this season.
However, after posting on his X account, Nicky Henderson revealed that Joe Donnelly's unbeaten prospect will now head down the novice chasing route.
Henderson told Unibet: "After much discussion with Joe and Marie Donnelly, Nico and myself, we have come to the conclusion that Sir Gino will go chasing this season. Obviously, we have Constitution Hill, and there is also State Man who is seriously in the equation, so the decision wasn't a relatively hard one.
"Sir Gino has already schooled over fences and jumps very well, so I think the thing to do is go down this route and if things don't go to plan, we can always revert back to hurdles, which we did very successfully with Buveur D'Air a few years ago, and there's nothing to say we can't do that again if we have to, but for the time being I'd like to go chasing and he's coming along very nicely.
"The plan is to start him off at Kempton on the 25th of November in the 2m2f Beginners Chase, which is a race we've used for Altior and Shishkin; it's usually quite a 'friendly' race so we think that's where we ought to try."
He added: "He does have an entry in the Fighting Fifth, but that is nothing more than speculative in case anything, god forbid, would mean Constitution Hill is unable to run there."
Paddy Power cut Sir Gino to 7/1 (from 8s) for the Grade 1 two-mile novice chase at the Cheltenham Festival in March. The Willie Mullins-trained wide-margin Grade 1 Gallagher Novices' Hurdle winner Ballyburn heads the betting at 5/2, although Ronnie Bartlett's six-year-old does hold an entry in both the Morgiana Hurdle and Hatton's Grace Hurdle in Ireland over the coming weeks.
Nicky Henderson's French import confirmed his initial promise when breezing to a fourteen-length success at Kempton before putting the classy Burdett Road in his place in the Triumph Hurdle Trial at Cheltenham in January.
With the Seven Barrows yard struggling for form, Sir Gino was one of many high-profile withdrawals made by Henderson at the Cheltenham Festival. However, the Triumph Hurdle ante-post favourite ensured Henderson would finish last season on a high when running out a comfortable three-and-a-quarter-length winner of the Grade 1 Anniversary 4-Y-O Juvenile Hurdle at Aintree on his last start.
