Nicky Henderson has announced it will be at least a fortnight before a decision is made whether Altior will run in the Ladbrokes King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day.
The Seven Barrows trainer plans to wait and see how his brilliant two-miler recovers from his first defeat in 20 starts at Ascot on Saturday.
Cyrname took the prized scalp of the dual Queen Mother Champion Chase hero in the Christy 1965 Chase at Ascot.
Henderson believes it was the soft ground that found out Altior on his seasonal debut rather than the step up in distance to two miles and five furlongs.
He said: “He is 100 per cent. There will be no decision made for at least two weeks whether he comes to Kempton for the King George.
“I remember when he won the Champion Chase, and he hadn’t recovered in time to go to Aintree – and that was four weeks later.
“If he is not ready for the King George then we will have to find another race for him. He will tell us what we are going to do. It is 100 per cent about him at the end of the day.
“The owners are fantastic, and the horse is fantastic. He will be back, but he has only been beaten once.
“In that ground, he wasn’t ready. The other horse was fitter. That was the only difference in that ground. That makes a hell of a difference.”
