Connections say dual Grade One-winning hurdler At Fishers Cross will not race until the end of the year as he needs more work.
The eight-year-old won the the 2013 Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle and the Sefton Novices' Hurdle at Aintree but has not retuned to the winner's circle since.
The son of Oscar has come close, with AP McCoy guiding him to second in the Silver Cross Stayers' Hurdle in Liverpool last year but he has not raced since finishing fourth in the Ladbrokes World Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in March this year.
But trainer Rebecca Curtis has issued an upbeat bulletin on her charge and expects him back in action in late December.
“At Fishers Cross is in good form and is as good as I've ever had him,” she said. “He's had a few problems with various things but the vets back at Martinstown did a good job with him.
“He's had a really good summer and he came back to me in early October. We will start getting more work into him in another couple of weeks.
“Hopefully we will get him out towards the end of December or in January. I suppose the Cleeve Hurdle (Cheltenham) is a race we would look at.”
