Barry Geraghty insists punters should not rule Moscow Flyer out of the Queen Mother Champion Chase picture.
The 12-year-old has won the race twice before but he has looked a little lacklustre in his last two starts, suffering a surprise defeat at Navan before finishing out of the frame at Leopardstown over Christmas.
However, big-race pilot Geraghty believes Jessica Harrington's stable star can return to his best when the yard begins to hit a bit of form.
"He ran well enough (at Leopardstown) but I just thought he caught the top of the second-last," Geraghty told At The Races.
"A lot of Jessie's horses, Macs Joy included, are 10 lengths off where they were last year - I'd be putting Moscow's disappointment down to that.
"Some of them have just been running disappointingly and blowing themselves up.
"If he can get back to where he was, his best form, I think he will take a lot of beating."
Moscow Flyer, who was unbeaten in all his completed starts until meeting with defeat at Punchestown last April, is a general 5-1 chance for the Cheltenham Festival.
PA