Having had a bad experience last weekend with a high-profile flop who later turned out to be sick, Colin Tizzard is taking no chances about Thistlecrack in the buildup to his run at Cheltenham on Saturday. The King George winner was given a quick schooling session on Thursday at the trainer’s Milborne Port base and his infected stablemate, Alary, has been moved to another box much further away from the stable star.
Alary returned a dirty scope after a thoroughly disappointing effort at Haydock last Saturday, his first run since leaving his native France with a big reputation. Tizzard revealed here that the chestnut had also coughed twice in the immediate aftermath of that contest, in which he was pulled up three fences from home, leading to the conclusion that he is suffering some kind of infection.
That in turn has meant Alary has been banished to the far end of Tizzard’s enormous new barn. “He was quite close to Thistlecrack and Cue Card and Native River,” the trainer said. “So, almost before he pulled up, he was moved. We don’t want [him] anywhere near them!”
Tizzard smiled as he told the tale, seeming to feel that the risk was low in any case and that he might be accused of being excessively careful. He stressed that his other horses seem well, adding: “There’s nothing else coughing. I think it’s a French horse coming over, getting little English germs, little viruses which they’ve all got, all our horses get immune to them but he hasn’t, not yet.”
Just the same, Tizzard was mildly spooked on his way here to read that he had picked up just a single winner in the previous fortnight, from 17 runners. But an easy success for his Grand Vision in the Hunters’ Chase helped reassure him that his horses are sufficiently healthy to win if they are good enough.
A few hours earlier there was also reassurance in the way Thistlecrack coped with a bit of jumping practice, on the first day for more than a week when Tizzard’s schooling area was not frozen. “We jumped three hurdles and six fences, just to keep us all happy, really,” said the trainer. “He was brilliant. The second one’s a ditch, he could have gone long but he just shortened up and popped it lovely. He’s in good form. It’s just lovely to be associated with a fantastic horse.”
Thistlecrack’s run on Saturday has special significance because his jumping was far from convincing when he last ran at Cheltenham, in mid-November. However that was only his second race over fences and he has since been a most impressive winner of the King George, form which suggests he is the best chaser in training just now.
Asked what he expects in the Cotswold Chase, Tizzard said: “We’ve seen last season and this what he can do to horses. In mid-race he will put on a spurt that takes the rest of them right out of their comfort zone.
“ At home, he’s brilliant. We just need ordinary luck and he’ll take all the beating. There’s no doubt about that.”
Tizzard also had encouraging words for anyone who backed Alary down to 16-1 for the Gold Cup before his Haydock disappointment, saying the mid-March race could still be on his agenda. “We’ve had horses before that have run a poor race, lesser lights. He could be back to his very best in seven weeks. I still think he’s a beautiful horse. He’ll run again [some time in February] and have a Grand National entry.”
Among the handful of horses expected to oppose Thistlecrack tomorrow is Smad Place, a handsome winner of the Cotswold Chase 12 months ago. “But we didn’t have Thistlecrack to beat last year,” pointed out the grey’s trainer, Alan King, who gave no sign of hoping for an upset result.
“He’s a superstar but he’s difficult to place now. He’s not good enough, really, to take on the proper Gold Cup horses, and he’s badly handicapped, but he’s in good order and he’ll run very well.”
King will also return Uxizandre to the track on Saturday, the nine-year-old having last been seen in March 2015, providing AP McCoy with his final Festival victory. “He’s going to need a run and you’re coming back against race-fit rivals,” King said of the horse’s entry in the Clarence House Chase. “But it looks a good place to start.
“He got a leg just after Cheltenham, went wrong before Aintree, so it’s nearly two years since he ran. I think the first bit of treatment didn’t work, so he had to have another year. He’s only just ready.”
Friday’s tips
Doncaster
1.25 Midnight Cowboy 1.55 Behind The Wire 2.25 Calarules 2.55 Baraza 3.25 Wealth Des Mottes 3.55 Aux Ptits Soins 4.25 Wenyerreadyfreddie
Lingfield
1.10 Wily Rumpus 1.40 Dandy Flame 2.10 Grand Facile 2.40 Fashion Business 3.10 Krazy Paving 3.40 Ocean Drive 4.10 Attain (nb)
Newcastle
5.45 Safe Voyage 6.15 Van Velde 6.45 Fredricka 7.15 Leonard Thomas 7.45 Harry Holland 8.15 Sugar Town
Taunton
1.15 Matts Legacy 1.45 Percy Street 2.15 The Mythologist (nap) 2.45 Dolos 3.15 Amber Gambler 3.45 Yur Next 4.15 Mad Jack Mytton
Huntingdon ABANDONED
12.30 Percy Street 1.00 Kauto Riko 1.30 Winner Massagot 2.00 Icing On The Cake 2.30 Happy Diva 3.00 Call To Order 3.30 Aliandy 4.00 Understatement
