Ballyandy heading straight to Betfair Hurdle

Nigel Twiston-Davies has ruled out running Ballyandy before next month's Betfair Hurdle.Although last year's Champion Bumper winner is entered in a maiden hurdle at Hereford on Sunday, the Naunton handler will bypass that race in favour of sending him straight to Newbury on February 11. Despite having yet to open his account over hurdles, the six-year-old is currently joint-favourite with most firms to lift the valuable Grade Three handicap, for which he has been allotted 10st 6lb.Twiston-Davies said: "He won't run at Hereford on Sunday. He will go straight to the Betfair."If he ran and won at Hereford, he would pick up a 5lb penalty."He is handily weighted in the Betfair and he has ran most of his hurdle races over two miles except his last one."