Irish-trained horses dominate the betting for the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day but there is growing confidence that Cue Card, the shortest priced of the home defenders, can provide a 10th successive English-trained winner.
Colin Tizzard’s stable star has been beaten in each of his three attempts to land the Christmas feature, but the Dorset handler suggests there have been good reasons for each defeat and believes he has him in the best shape ever for his festive assignment.
Speaking at Fakenham on Sunday, where he watched his young chaser Bears Rails win, Tizzard said: “There have been excuses every time we have been to the King George with him, but there will be no excuses this time.”
The explanation for Cue Card’s return to top form was the discovery that he had a trapped oesophagus which was blocking his whole windpipe, but surgery has remedied that problem.
The son of King’s Theatre, who will celebrate his 10th birthday on New Year’s Day and is a 4-1 chance for Saturday’s big race, has been pleasing connections at home and will do a fast bit of work on Tuesday as he continues his preparation for his weekend appearance.
This year’s renewal looks the strongest for some time with Don Cossack and Vautour heading the market, yet Tizzard believes despite his three failures Cue Card can come good at the fourth time of asking.
He said: “We have him just where he was at Haydock [when he won the Betfair Chase by seven lengths from Silviniaco Conti], but he will need to be against this strong opposition on Saturday. If he sits second, third, fourth or fifth it won’t make any difference as he has loads of pace.”
Twenty four hours earlier Tizzard had watched in awe as his rising star, Thistlecrack, put up a remarkable performance to win the Grade One Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot.
He observed: “The way he had been working I thought he would be hard to beat, but the way he waltzed away with it in the end was mindboggling.”
Cue Card will not be the only Grade One challenger making the journey up from Milborne Port on Boxing Day as Native River is being aimed at the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase.
Native River has progressed with each of his three runs over fences this season, culminating with an impressive victory over Un Temps Pour Tout in the Grade Two Worcester Novices’ Chase at Newbury’s Hennessy meeting in November.
His last outing in Grade One company came on his final start over hurdles when finishing ninth in the Albert Bartlett Novice Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.
Tizzard said: “He will jump [some fences on] Tuesday morning and be entered for the Kauto Star Novice Chase. I’m sure there will be half a dozen strong stayers in the race, but he is in good form and looks a strong stayer himself.”
Smad Place’s participation in the King George VI Chase hinges on a piece of work he will do at Barbury Castle on Monday morning.
Alan King’s grey, who put up a memorable front-running performance to win the Hennessy Gold Cup last month, is a general 14-1 shot for Kempton, but the sponsors, William Hill, are offering 8-1 “with a run” about him.
Racing was in mourning after the news of the death of journalist Alan Lee, who had been racing correspondent of the Times since 1999, and prior to that had been the newspaper’s cricket correspondent for 11 years.
Lee, who was 61, had undergone heart surgery in November but had been fit enough to attend Ascot’s meeting on Friday, but died on Saturday.
The BBC racing correspondent, Cornelius Lysaght, said: “He was just the most brilliant and most natural writer.” The former England cricket captain Michael Atherton called Lee “a superb journalist and a good friend”.
