Coneygree and Carruthers, the stars of Mark Bradstock’s Letcombe Bassett yard, have suffered setbacks and won’t be seen on the racecourse until next year.

The half-brothers posted high-profile wins for the Old Manor Stables team last season with their bold, front-running styles earning them plenty of fans.

Coneygree reeled off a sparkling hat-trick over hurdles, scoring at Uttoxeter before landing two Grade 2 events at Cheltenham.

He then finished third behind subsequent Cheltenham Festival winners At Fishers Cross and The New One back at Prestbury Park, before picking up a stress fracture of a tibia, which forced him to miss the rest of the season.

The six-year-old has recovered from that injury, but has now suffered a nasty cut to his nearside hind leg, which will keep him on the sidelines, and mean he is likely to be kept to the smaller obstacles rather than tackling fences this term.

Bradstock’s wife, Sara, said: “There is a lot of bruising and trauma and it is around the tendon, so we have got to be careful with it.”

Carruthers, the 2011 Hennessy Gold Cup hero, who bounced back to form with his two wins in heavy ground at Ffos Las last season including the William Hill West Wales National, was being prepared for a crack at the Kerry National at Listowel in September when he suffered a minor injury.

“He just knocked a joint, so that has taken a bit of time,” said Sara.

“He is back cantering now.”

The Thyestes Chase at Gowran Park in January is a potential target.”

Further down the line cross country chases could be on the agenda, but the Crabbies Grand National is definitely not an option.

The Bradstocks have been lifted though by Carruthers’s full-brother, Flintham, the last offspring of the mare, Plaid Maid, finishing third in a novices’ hurdle at Stratford.