THE Supreme Novices' Hurdle winner Labaik will be aimed towards the Punchestown Festival after he was withdrawn from the Goffs UK Aintree Sale on Thursday.

The Gordon Elliott-trained grey, who has refused to race on multiple occasions, put his best foot forward to run out a brilliant winner of the traditional curtain-raiser at Cheltenham last month.

The six-year-old was to be entered for the sale on the opening day of the Grand National Festival at Aintree, but he will not head to Merseyside and is instead set to contest the Herald Champion Novice Hurdle at Punchestown on April 25th.

Labaik is part-owned by bloodstock agent Aidan O'Ryan, who said: "They (Labaik's partners) have decided not to sell and he's going to go to Punchestown, that's the plan."