Oliver Sherwood has been forced to rule Puffin Billy out for the season.
The talented eight-year-old signed off last term with three successive wins, including in a valuable event at Ayr's Grand National meeting.
He was due to make his comeback at Sandown in November but was found to be lame on the morning of the race and had his sights set on Kempton this weekend.
However, another minor problem has flared up and Sherwood feels the best course of action will be to give him plenty of time off.
"We've decided to give him the rest of this season off," said Sherwood.
"He's just got a minor joint problem and while it wouldn't take that long to come right and will eventually settle down, we thought it best to give him a long break.
"It's just been a bit stop-start this year so it's probably the best course of action."