Mille Chief has been ruled out of the JCB Triumph Hurdle by trainer Alan King.
One of the ante-post favourites for the race, the juvenile missed his intended warm-up at Kempton at the weekend through lameness.
King had hoped the youngster would still make the Festival but although he has reported some improvement, he needs more time to recover.
"Mille Chief is getting better and we can see improvement, but we have basically run out of time to make the Triumph.
"You can't go half-cocked to Cheltenham - even 90% is not good enough.
"But I remain very hopeful that we will be able to get him ready in time for Aintree and Punchestown.
"Mille Chief is a very good horse and I still have a lot of faith in him and I am not prepared to take any risks and feel it best we make an early decision so as to keep the betting public fully informed.
"He'll miss Cheltenham and we'll monitor the situation, but I'd be optimistic we'll make Liverpool."
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