COLIN Tizzard has warned Cue Card is far from certain to contest the Timico Cheltenham Gold Cup on March 16.

The 12-year-old, who has fallen at the third-last in the blue riband race for the last two seasons, also holds an entry the day before in the Ryanair Chase, which he won in 2013.

After being held by Bristol De Mai in the Betfair Chase at Haydock in November, the nine-time Grade One winner showed he still retains plenty of ability when pushing Waiting Patiently all the way in the Ascot Chase on Saturday.

Tizzard said: “Despite everything said about him over the last three months, he looks to be equally as good as he has ever been.

“We watched a recording of it (Ascot Chase) yesterday and he was only half a length down when he definitely got interfered with. I’m not taking anything away from Waiting Patiently as he won on merit on the day.

“Whether he goes for the Ryanair or Gold Cup, if you read Monday’s paper it was all decided but it is not. We will let that run for a while.

“Jean (Bishop, owner) is coming down for three days to have a little holiday with the family and we will make a decision then for sure.

“There is no reason why we shouldn’t go for the biggest one. Is that harder to win than the Ryanair? Possibly, yes.”