Thistle won't crack
JOE TIZZARD thinks Thistlecrack has not “lost an ounce of his ability” ahead of the Long Distance Hurdle at Newbury (3.00).
He says in his blog for Coral that he and his dad Colin “have him even fitter than we did two years ago” when he won the race en route to World Hurdle glory.
“He is in lovely form,” said the former jockey. “It was only ever a minor injury that kept him off the track and he’s been back in since the start of August.
“We’ve gone very slowly with him. It was only about three weeks ago that we ramped his work up, going from standard fitness work to really getting stuck into him.
“He had a really hard fortnight which he’s come through well. ® He had a canter at Wincanton just to get his blood up and that went really well.
“He schooled on Wednesday for Tom Scudamore and it really woke him up.
“When he walked through the yard, Dad and I looked at him, then looked at each other, and we were both thinking the same thing – that he looks ready.
Ability
“This is a stepping stone to the King George – don’t get me wrong – but if we wound back the clock 18 months we would be confident getting 6lb from Unowhatimeanharry. He’s not lost an ounce of his ability.
“I remember going into this Newbury race two years ago hoping that we had something a bit special but we weren’t sure. In fact I remember we’d missed a bit of work with him so I told Tom that he would improve for the run, and he still bolted up.
“I think we have him fitter than we did then. Every box has been ticked.
“We haven’t missed a piece of work since he’s back in, he’s done everything we’ve asked of him.
“Remember he hasn’t been off 18 months, he ran at the end of January. He would have run in the Gold Cup or he might have run at Aintree, so it’s not like he’s been off for ages.
“There are no excuses for him really, although clearly it is his first run of the season and it’s more about the King George and the Gold Cup.
“I’m really excited to see him run. He’s our big gun, he’s our best chance of winning a Gold Cup, and he’s a 170-rated horse.”