Joe Tizzard, assistant to his father Colin, says Cue Card ran out of legs as he could only manage fourth in the Punchestown Gold Cup.
The pre-race favourite was a disappointing finisher on Wednesday as Carlingford Lough, at 12/1, upset the field to claim the prestigious prize.
Djakadam was second, while Don Poli just about held off Cue Card to claim third place in Ireland and Tizzard junior says tiredness at the end of the season was probably the reason the bay gelding, ridden by Paddy Brennan, was not at his sharpest.
After falling at the Cheltenham Festival in March, the 10-year-old then impressed when beating both Don Poli and Djakadam by a big margin at Aintree earlier this month but Cue Card failed to match that performance in Punchestown.
Joe Tizzard said: “We didn’t think he’d had a hard race at either Cheltenham or Aintree, but it’s probably just the end of the season taking its toll.
“He owes us nothing and he’ll be back to fight another day.”
