Ground conditions will dictate whether Forgotten Rules will bid for a second success in the Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup at Ascot on Saturday.
Dermot Weld's charge devoured the testing terrain when claiming the two-mile prize in 2014 and after stretching his unbeaten record to four in the Vintage Crop Stakes at Navan the following spring, he was favourite for last year's Gold Cup at Royal Ascot.
While he was far from disgraced in finishing third on ground quicker than ideal, he failed to fire in his next three starts, including when well beaten in this Group Two contest 12 months ago.
The six-year-old made an encouraging return from almost a year off when narrowly denied by Twilight Payment in a Listed event at the Curragh last month.
Forgotten Rules looked well positioned for a third consecutive appearance on Champions Day, but connections are not committing to a run just yet.
Fiona Craig, breeding advisor for owners Moyglare Stud, said: "I think he's going to travel over, but whether he's going to run is a different matter.
"He's probably going to set off in the horsebox (on Wednesday), so he'll be there before declarations and then we can make a decision.
"It's a tough one. There is rain forecast, but we don't know how much they're going to get.
"Forgotten Rules is fine on good ground, but we know he prefers it softer and taking on horses like Order Of St George and Secret Gesture on good ground would be pretty tough.
"If we're going to run, we want to be competitive, and we have a better chance of that if the ground is on the soft side."
Prix du Cadran hero Quest For More is set to take his chance, with trainer Roger Charlton not too concerned about conditions at this stage.
"He's an intended runner," said the Beckhampton handler.
"We'll see about the ground, but it's his last race of the year, so he'll probably run.
"He's in very good form."