Thistlecrack will miss the Timico Cheltenham Gold Cup and the rest of the season, assistant trainer Kim Tizzard told At The Races today.

The 10-year-old looked a potential superstar when winning the 2016 King George VI Chase but a tendon injury sustained last February saw him miss the 2017 Gold Cup and kept him out of action until December.

A lacklustre return over hurdles was followed by a fourth-place finish on his return to Kempton in the King George, but Colin Tizzard's inmate is now set for another prolonged spell on the sidelines.

Kim Tizzard told At The Races: "He was a little bit stiff behind after the King George and he's been off and had X-rays and bone scans - it's gutting.

"He ran a screamer. He jumped really well and we were getting excited that the old Thistlecrack was still there.

"We were going for the Gold Cup - we're gutted. Hopefully he'll have his box rest and come back next season. We're gutted for the team."

Death Duty ridden by Davy Russell jumping the last fence to win the Bar One Racing Drinmore Novice at Fairyhouse

Irish novice chase star Death Duty will also miss the season though injury, though Gigginstown House Stud's Eddie O'Leary was of the opinion that it did not occur in a fall at Leopardstown in the Grade 1 two-mile novice won by Footpad. "I'd say it probably happened earlier than the fall because it's a problem with a a hind joint," he told the PA.

He was one of the big Irish hopes for the Cheltenham Festival after three wins over fences including the Grade 1 Bar One Racing Drinmore Novice at Fairyhouse.

Gordon Elliott's seven-year-old fell on his last outing at Leopardstown over Christmas. Death Duty sustained the problem during the Racing Post Novice Chase, with Gigginstown racing manager Eddie O'Leary suggesting the problem may have occurred before his final-fence fall.

"Unfortunately he'll be out for the season," O'Leary told Press Association Sport. "Hopefully he'll be back next season."

Death Duty had been prominent in the Cheltenham Festival betting for both the RSA Novices' Chase and the JLT Novices' Chase.

Death Duty takes a fall at the last in the Grade 1 Racing Post Novice Chase.