There will be no heroic performance at Christmas from Faugheen this year with Willie Mullins' veteran recuperating from a setback.
The 2015 Champion Hurdle winner turns 13 in a few weeks but remains in training alongside a galaxy of other stars at Mullins' Closutton yard.
He went novice chasing at an advanced age last season and having won on his chasing debut at Punchestown he went to Limerick for a Grade One over Christmas and beat Samcro by 10 lengths for a hugely-popular success.
He then topped that by winning at the Dublin Racing Festival and went down by just a length to Samcro at Cheltenham in the Marsh Novices' Chase.
Patrick Mullins rode him at Limerick and the assistant trainer to his father said at an event to publicise Leopardstown's Christmas meeting: "He had a little setback at the end of October.
"We're just taking our time with him very much, so he won't be out at Christmas. We're just having to take our time.
"We'll just have to start again with him and if he's in great form we'll look for a race then, but he won't be out at Christmas."
Meanwhile, Monkfish is set to be one of the headline acts as Willie Mullins prepares to unleash a formidable bunch of novice chasers over Christmas.
The Rich Ricci-owned six-year-old landed the Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle at Cheltenham in March and made the perfect start to his chasing career with victory at Fairyhouse in November, winning in a canter.
He is likely to be seen in the Grade One Neville Hotels Novice Chase on the final day of the Leopardstown Christmas Festival.
Patrick Mullins said: "He put in a fabulous performance at Fairyhouse. He’s a very tall horse and when he came to the yard he was very light so we didn’t get him out until Punchestown in his bumper season. We just couldn’t get him strong and get condition on him.
"We ran in a big field and every time there was a gap he backed out of it so we ended up a little bit far back and had to come around. We got beaten by a good horse in Longhouse Poet.
"Then he got beaten first time last season and we were scratching our heads a bit thinking he maybe wasn’t the horse we thought he was, but he just improved every run after that.
"He won his maiden, then won by 20 lengths down in Thurles and we were wondering did the race fall apart.
"In Cheltenham, what I loved about him, was that when it got tight at the last he put his head down and went into the gap – he’s maturing and learning how to race.
"This year we’re having no problem keeping condition on him. He looks great, good and strong.
"Three miles is obviously no bother to him. We’d be disappointed if he got beaten, but we’ve been disappointed before!"
Blackbow, Energumene and Asterion Forlonge are among the other novice chasers lined up for festive action.
Mullins junior said: "It's definitely the most depth I can remember us having in the novice chase division."
