It is as you were in the Gold Cup field, after Thistlecrack was finally confirmed as a non-runner for the big race at Cheltenham later this month.

Colin Tizzard confirmed a tendon injury for the King George winner, but last week he revealed that he would be undergoing a fresh scan – which gave hope to some, that he could yet make it to Prestbury Park – with some bookmakers reinstalling him as favourite.

But now a fresh check has confirmed that Thistlecrack will not be seen on the track again until Christmas.

In a statement issued to Press Association Sport, Tizzard said: “Thistlecrack’s second scan came back exactly the same as the first, as we expected it would.

“As communicated previously Thistlecrack will not run again this season and all being well we’d expect him to be back at Christmas.”

The horses co-owner Heather Snook added: “We just wanted to see the extent of the problem. It’s not massive and I’ve seen worse, but he won’t be doing anything for the rest of the season. We’ll monitor it and probably scan it again at Easter.

“He’s out and that’s it. Whatever Colin said last Tuesday is the same this Tuesday. Everybody can get on with Cheltenham without worrying about what we’re doing.”