The 2000 Tote Cheltenham Gold Cup winner, Looks Like Trouble, is on course to return to action at Wincanton on Saturday.
The gelding has not raced through injury since an easy success gained at Down Royal in November of that year.
But trainer Noel Chance has confirmed Looks Like Trouble will almost certainly be heading for the £20,000 sterling Highclere Group Of Companies John Bull Chase, rather than the Peter Marsh Chase at Haydock Park the same afternoon.
Chance said: "At the moment, we're definitely going to Wincanton. There's a drop of rain forecast which should suit us just fine and so the Highclere Group Of Companies John Bull Chase is currently 'Plan A'".
When questioned about how the 10-year-old had come out of a racecourse gallop at Huntingdon on Friday, Chance added: "He's 100 per cent at the moment - I'm keeping my fingers crossed".
Channel 4 Racing are considering televising the John Bull Chase.
PA