Trainer Paul Nicholls has confirmed stable star Topofthegame will miss another season after suffering an injury in recent weeks.
The eight-year-old, who won the RSA Insurance Novices' Chase at Cheltenham in 2019, had been considered for the 2021 Gold Cup at Prestbury Park.
Topofthegame missed the majority of last season with a leg injury, but connections had been confident he could run in the Ladbrokes Trophy.
Nicholls has revealed the fan favourite has yet to fully recover from last year's problem and he will now miss the rest of the campaign, with the veteran trainer hoping more rest will finally help the injury settle.
He told reporters: “The warning lights have been flashing for the last couple of weeks. I was not happy with him last week, and we had the vet scan him today, and although there is no tear he just needs more time to recover, so we will leave him for the rest of the season and get him back for next season.
“He had the tendon injury last season, and he is still not strong enough to do full training. If we had carried on, he would have broken down, but as we have stopped there is a good chance we will get him back for next season.”
