Exciting prospect Doddiethegreat has been ruled out for the rest of the season after suffering an injury during his latest victory at Kempton three weeks ago.

The five-year-old – who runs in the Honeysuckle colours of owner Kenny Alexander – is named after Scottish rugby union great Doddie Weir, who is suffering from motor neurone disease.

Weir set up his own charity – the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation – to raise funds to aid research into MND, and Alexander has kindly donated all prize-money Doddiethegreat accrues to the charity.

Impressive in winning bumpers at Ludlow and Huntingdon last season, Nicky Henderson’s charge made a fine start to his jumping career with a 22-length success at Kempton – taking his career earnings to just under £9,000.

But Alexander’s racing manager, Peter Molony, revealed afterwards Doddiethegreat had returned with “quite a nasty cut”, and he is now set for a prolonged spell on the sidelines.

Molony said: “He will be fine, but he’s going to miss the rest of the season sadly.

“He gave his tendon a bit of a knock in the race. We’re very confident that he’ll be fine, but it’s going to take a bit of time.

“It’s a pity, he’s an exciting horse. Hopefully he’ll be back next year – we’ll look forward to that.”