Sire De Grugy could face up to five opponents on his comeback run in the Betfair Price Rush Chase at Newbury on Saturday.

The nine-year-old has not been seen since winning the Bet365 Celebration Chase at Sandown on April 26 last year due to a hip injury.

However the Queen Mother Champion Chase winner has been progressing well at home and trainer Gary Moore said he was ‘delighted’ with his final workout on Tuesday morning.

Moore said: "Sire De Grugy did his final piece of serious work this morning and I'm delighted with what I saw.

"He's ready for Newbury now, but don't get me wrong, he'll come on for the run and there's still a little bit left to work on. But he's fit enough to do himself justice.

Sponsors Betfair have Sire De Grugy at 11-10 for a comeback success and jockey Jamie Moore, son of Gary, has stated that he will not be giving him an easy ride.

He said: “It wouldn’t be the end of the world if he was beaten, but I think he’s fit enough.

“I know a lot of people who would use a race like Saturday as prep for Cheltenham but we are a stable that take our chances when we get them and I won’t be giving him an easy time of it.”

Sire De Grugy’s potential opponents are the Paul Nicholls-trained duo of Mr Mole and Vibrato Valtat, Alan King’s Uxizandre, Karinga Dancer of the Harry Fry yard and Pauline Robson’s Upsilon Bleu.

Dynaste to miss rest of season

Meanwhile, trainer David Pipe confirmed on Wednesday morning that 2014 Ryanair Chase winner Dynaste will miss the rest of the season after straining a hind leg following his Cheltenham run last month.

He finished a good third in the BetBright Chase Cup at Cheltenham behind Many Clouds and Smad Place, prompting many to believe he would give a strong defence of his Ryanair crown at the Festival on March 12.

However Pipe said: "Unfortunately Dynaste finished very sore behind after his race at the Cheltenham Trials meeting last month and has failed to make sufficient recovery.

"We have decided to call time with him for this season as it's far too close to Cheltenham and Aintree," - David Pipe

"We have decided to call time with him for this season as it's far too close to Cheltenham and Aintree."

As well as his Cheltenham appearance, this season Dynaste has finished third behind Silviniaco Conti in the Betfair Hurdle and second in the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day. Bookmakers had made him best price 9-2 for the Ryanair before Wednesday’s news.