Gold Cup shock as Cheltenham favourite Thistlecrack ruled out for the season

Thistlecrack became the latest high-profile name to be ruled out of next month's Cheltenham Festival after suffering a season-ending tendon injury. The dominant force in the staying hurdle division last year, the Colin Tizzard-trained nine-year-old won his first four starts over fences, including a scintillating victory in the King George VI Chase at Kempton. Despite suffering a narrow defeat at the hands of the ill-fated Many Clouds in the Cotswold Chase at Cheltenham at the end of January, he remained at the head of the betting for the Timico Cheltenham Gold Cup on March 17, but will not line up.Tizzard told Press Association Sport: "Thistlecrack is out for the season, unfortunately.He had a bit of heat in his leg last night and was a bit sore. "We had the leg scanned this morning and he has a slight tear on his tendon."We've seen it at every yard and it happens every year."The news comes as another huge blow to National Hunt racing's showpiece meeting, with Thistlecrack joining the likes of Coneygree, Annie Power and Faugheen on the sidelines.John Snook owns Thistlecrack along with his wife Heather and admitted it came as a bitter blow when he received the phone call all owners dread. Snook said: "It's very disappointing, but it's one of those things that happens with horses. We've got to stop and that's that. "They just found a little bit of heat in his leg and it might be that he feels better in a week or two, but you'd be risking everything if you carried on."We all get our fair share of bad luck. We've seen it happen to Willie Mullins with the likes of Annie Power and Faugheen, and of course Oliver Sherwood after what happened to Many Clouds."Whether it's JP McManus, Rich Ricci or ourselves, we all want to get our horses to the Festival and when something like this happens it knocks the stuffing out of you, but there's nothing we can do about it."Hopefully we still have a horse. We've got to stop and we'll find out where we are in about eight months' time."Despite Thistlecrack's enforced absence, Tizzard still has a formidable hand for the Festival showpiece.Paddy Power make Thistlecrack's Hennessy Gold Cup, Welsh Grand National and Denman Chase-winning stable companion Native River the new 5-2 favourite, just ahead of fellow Venn Farm inmate Cue Card at 3-1. Ladbrokes go 11-4 about Native River.Snook will now be cheering on the other Tizzard runners in the Gold Cup and still has high hopes of a Festival winner of his own, with Thistlecrack's half-brother West Approach bound for either the Albert Bartlett or the Stayers' Hurdle. "When you think we've lost Vautour, Many Clouds and now Thistlecrack - they are three horses who could have all played a major part in the Gold Cup," Snook added. "I'll be hoping Jean (Bishop, owner of Cue Card) or Anne and Garth (Broom, owners of Native River) can win it - a dead-heat would be great."We still have his little brother, West Approach. He's in the two races and the Albert Bartlett is probably the more likely."But if something happened to one or two of the top horses in the Stayers' Hurdle, who knows?"