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‘Absolutely, the Gold Cup is still the aim’, Tizzard confirms.

If Lostintranslation  runs again before the Cheltenham Gold Cup it is more than likely to be in the Denman Chase at Newbury.

Colin Tizzard's Betfair Chase hero saw his winning run come to an abrupt end in the King George VI Chase on Boxing Day when he was pulled up.

Jockey Robbie Power felt he was caught out by his wind on the testing ground, and it will now be checked out to see if a procedure is required.

"Nothing else has come to light, and we are going to check his wind, and then it is our job to get him back for Cheltenham," said assistant trainer Joe Tizzard.

"Robbie said his palate was flapping, so we will have a look at his wind. It has been mentioned in the past, but it probably got exposed on soft ground.

"We looked at him Saturday morning, dad, myself and the head girl – but that (run) was just too bad to be true, and horses do that sometimes. He was beaten way too early, and he was never travelling, so I'm not going to say it is the track.

"Absolutely, the Gold Cup is still the aim – one bad run doesn't make him a bad horse. Whether we run him again before, I don't know. If he only has a soft palate done, then a Denman Chase would suit to give him a confidence booster."

Lostintranslation could yet be joined in the Gold Cup by stablemate Elegant Escape, who ran another sound race in defence of his Welsh National crown in sixth.

"I think he will have an entry in the Gold Cup and Grand National," said Tizzard.

"If it turned up soft you might see him in the Gold Cup, or we might just find a smaller option and (then) have a crack at the Grand National with him.

"I don't think he faded away in the Welsh National – he just kept galloping, and come the end he was staying on again. It was a lot of weight in those conditions, but I thought it was another solid run.

"Where do you go with him, because he is not easy to place now?"