Imperial Call will miss the Cheltenham Gold Cup for the third successive year.

The 1996 Gold Cup hero missed last weekend's Hennessy due to an interrupted preparation but it had been hoped to give him a prep race over hurdles before returning to Cheltenham next month.

However, his trainer Raymond Hurley admitted yesterday: "The horse is in very light work and it's taking him a long time to come right. Our plans are on hold and Cheltenham is probably out of the picture."

Imperial Call hasn't raced since mid-October when he finished lame behind Ferbet Junior in the Powers Chase and has been plagued with problems since.

Ireland's most recent Gold Cup winner is now an 11-year-old but Hurley was quick to pour cold water on any suggestion of retirement and added: "He's more or less over his problems now but time is just against us. Hopefully he will be back racing again next season."

Imperial Call looked a superb chaser when landing the Gold Cup in 1996 but was unsuited by fast ground when pulled up the following year and hasn't made the race since.

He is still generally quoted at 40 to 1 for the Gold Cup, but one horse who remains on track for the Cheltenham showpiece is Dorans Pride, who will have a warm up race over hurdles against Limestone Lad in the Boyne Hurdle at Navan tomorrow week.

"I don't care who will be up against him because my main aim is to keep the horse's enthusiasm up," said Dorans Pride's trainer Michael Hourigan yesterday.

The Patrickswell trainer repeated his delight with the horse's second to Florida Pearl in last weekend's Hennessy, and declared: "If he jumps in the Gold Cup like he did in the Hennessy I'll be very happy. He jumped brilliantly, I was very pleased with him and he has been fine since. In fact, he cantered three miles this morning."

Florida Pearl is set to resume full work this morning and trainer Willie Mullins is unconcerned with the stiffness the horse has shown since winning the Hennessy.

"He has been walking every day and was fine this morning. I expect him to be 100 per cent in the morning," he said.