THISTLE CROCK!
Cheltenham curse strikes again as the Gold Cup favourite joins the long list of Festival absentees
THISTLeCRACK is out of next month’s Cheltenham gold Cup after tearing a tendon, with jockey Tom Scudamore describing it as ‘the biggest sickener I have ever suffered in racing’.
The Colin Tizzard-trained nineyear-old had been the 7-4 favourite and easily the best opportunity Scudamore had to win the race that eluded his eight-time champion father Peter.
Tizzard revealed yesterday that the gelding, owned by John and Heather Snook, has a ‘ small tendon tear’ which will end his season. He will now have to hope the gelding can recover well enough to take part in next season’s gold Cup.
Thistlecrack, who became the first novice to win the King george VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing day, had kept his place at the head of the betting despite defeat by Many Clouds in the Cotswold Chase at Cheltenham last month.
Scudamore, 34,, who fin-finished second in thehe 2012 gold Cup on outsidersider The giant Bolster,er, said: ‘ It is thehe biggest sickener I have ever suffered in racing but it is hard for everybody.
‘I really feel forr John and Heatherr and everyone at the stable that do all the work with him. It would have been disappointing whatever stage of the season it happened but you have to pick yourself up and move on.’
Tizzard, who could still have three gold Cup runners, said: ‘It’s terrible. We were not happy with him last night. He was scanned this morning and he has got a small tear (in a tendon).
‘It is only minute so we think he will be oK for next season but it is early days. It is never easy and we have been in racing long enough to realise this is what you have to deal with.’
His Hennessy gold Cup and Welsh National winner Native River is the new favourite, ahead of the stable’s best-known horse Cue Card, the two-time Festival wwinner who was gogoing well when falfalling three fences out in last year’s gold Cup, and outsidersider TheatreT guide. None of thet horses which won the big four feature races in 2016 — the Champion Hurdle, Champion Chase, Stayers’ Hurdle and gold Cup — will run this time. Thistlecrack’s absence might encourage a few outsiders to chance their arm and the gold Cup still looks like Tizzard versus Ireland. After Native River and Cue Card, the next six in the betting are trained in Ireland.