Jockey Ruby Walsh hopes Killultagh Vic can return as good as ever after he suffered an injury which is likely to keep him out for the season.
The Willie Mullins-trained seven-year-old had been a short-priced favourite for the JLT Novices' Chase at the Cheltenham Festival but has developed a suspensory problem.
Walsh told the Daily Mirror: "It's disappointing, because he looked a very promising horse, but hopefully the injury isn't that serious and he can build on what he's achieved so far when he comes back."
Conqueror of World Hurdle hotpot Thistlecrack at Punchestown last April, Killultagh Vic has won both his starts since switching to fences, most recently benefiting from a remarkable Walsh recovery after a bad blunder to claim a Grade Two contest at Leopardstown last month.
He would have been bidding for a second consecutive Cheltenham victory, having won the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle last year in the hands of Luke Dempsey.