Cue Card has been ruled of the Cheltenham Festival after suffering a setback.
A dual Festival winner having claimed the Champion Bumper in 2010 and the Ryanair Chase last year, the eight-year-old appeared bound for a tilt at the Cheltenham Gold Cup this time around following success in the Betfair Chase at Haydock and a fine second in the King George VI Chase at Kempton on St Stephen’s Day.
However, with little over two weeks to go, Cue Card has pulled muscles and Dorset trainer Colin Tizzard has had no option but to take him out of the Betfred Gold Cup and Ryanair Chase reckoning.
Tizzard said: “Unfortunately he has pulled muscles behind and he won’t be running at the Cheltenham Festival.
“We first noticed it last week. It was only a small thing then and it is only small now, but we cantered him this morning and he is still not right.
“He hasn’t got any better and you can’t be going to Cheltenham 90 per cent.
“The horse has looked after me for the last four years and it is my turn to look after him now.
“He’s been so good to me and he’s not going to be ready for the Festival.”
Asked whether his stable star could be back in action at the Grand National meeting at Aintree in April, Tizzard said: “Hopefully, but we need to get him right first.”
Favourite for the Gold Cup is reigning champion Bobs Worth, whose trainer Nicky Henderson extended his sympathy to Tizzard and his team.
Henderson, who himself has had to rule stable star Sprinter Sacre out of Cheltenham in recent days, said: “That’s awful for them and it just goes to show it’s a bloody difficult game. I’m very sorry for them.”
Meanwhile, Henderson is set to go straight to Aintree for the Crabbie’s Grand National with Long Run and skip a return trip to Cheltenham.
The nine-year-old won the Gold Cup back in 2011 and was placed in both 2012 and 2013, but he has failed to hit the same kind of heights this term.
Following three luckless runs earlier in the campaign, Long Run finally returned to winning form with victory in a Class Two event at Kelso earlier this month, seeing off a decent yardstick in Knockara Beau by nine lengths.
Handed an initial weight of 11st 9lb in the Aintree feature, Henderson and owner Robert Waley-Cohen will now focus their efforts on the marathon event rather than taking in Cheltenham along the way.
Henderson said: “I think in all probability he will go straight to Aintree.
“I’ve talked to Robert and I suspect he won’t go to Cheltenham. We were very pleased with him at Kelso and he’s great.”
