Crack two-mile chaser Douvan will miss the rest of the season, trainer Willie Mullins has announced.
The Rich Ricci-owned seven-year-old has not been seen since losing his unbeaten record over fences in the Queen Mother Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in March.
He had been set to reappear in the Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown earlier this month but was not declared, with Mullins reporting he had not been totally happy with him in the days before the race, opting instead to wait for a possible run at Leopardstown over Christmas.
However, it was revealed on Sunday that connections have now decided to miss the entire campaign.
The seven-year-old had been prominent again in the betting for March's Queen Mother Champion Chase and his absence has seen Sky Bet trim Altior into 11/8 market leader from 2/1.
Douvan's stablemate Min is now into 7/2 from 7/1 for the two-mile contest with Politologue 9/2 and Fox Norton 7/1.
Mullins said: "It's disappointing news, but we are taking a very conservative approach to his recovery, so this season is on hold.
"Our veterinary team will come back to us after the weekend to see what we need to do to help his recovery. He is young enough to come back to his best."
Ricci's racing manager Joe Chambers said: "As Willie has said, we'll take a conservative approach and that's him done for the season and we'll try to get him right for next year."
Douvan has won a total of eight Grade One contests in his career to date, including the Supreme Novices' Hurdle and Arkle Challenge Trophy at Cheltenham, beating current Gold Cup king Sizing John in the latter event in 2016.
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