Trainer Ruth Jefferson has confirmed Waiting Patiently will miss the Cheltenham Festival and head to Aintree instead next month.
The seven-year-old was entered in the Ryanair Chase at Prestbury Park, with many expecting him to continue his winning run.
Waiting Patiently has won his last seven races and remains unbeaten since the end of 2016, but connections are unhappy with his fitness levels.
After beating Cue Card at Ascot in February, Waiting Patiently has struggled to perform at home and Jefferson admits she will take no chances.
She said: “We’re taking him out of the Ryanair today. He came back from Ascot fine, but then when we started riding him again the weight dropped off.
“We’d love to have a Cheltenham Festival winner, obviously, so it is disappointing in some ways, but we can’t take the horse if he’s not 100 per cent. If I took him to Cheltenham looking light and he ran badly, I’d look pretty stupid.
“I’ve backed him off and he’s already starting to look a bit better. He’ll have another easy week next week and we’ve still got a few weeks to get him ready for Aintree.”
