RIVER’S FLOWING FOR GOLD
NATIVE RIVER heads up Team Tizzard’s Cheltenham challenge and goes into the Gold Cup as second favourite.
Here Joe Tizzard, pictured, goes through his stable’s runners over the next four days, including Vision Des Flos, a 14-1 shot with Coral that he fancies for the Ballymore Hurdle on Wednesday. runs in the National Hunt Chase (4.00) with a top amateur in the saddle. On a good day he’s a fair horse. Our runner in the Ballymore Novices Hurdle, Vision De Flos, looks superb. He was just starting to turn the corner and then he went and won the way he did at Exeter. Ever since then his coat has come on and he looks superb. He will love a bit of soft ground as he has a high knee action. I’m excited about running him. He’s a good horse. Elegant Escape (2.10) runs in the RSA Chase. He has improved all season and he is in terrific form. I keep watching replays of last year, when he led turning in in the Ballymore Hurdle, when he was a big frame of a horse. He’s going the right way. I’m expecting a big run from him. He will love the ground. Royal Vacation (2.50) is ultracompetitive and deserves to run in the Coral Cup. On his day he has a lot of ability. Padleyourowncanoe (4.50) is a bonny little chap and he will love the soft ground. There might be classier horses in the field but if they go a good gallop and it turns into a bit of a slog he’ll be doing his best work at the end.
Jaytrack Parkhomes (5.30) has improved no end for his win at Fontwell so we’ll give him a shot. He’s no Cue Card (who won the race) but he certainly won’t disgrace himself.
Both West Approach and Finian’s Oscar will run in the JLT Chase (1.30) for novices.
Finian’s Oscar is going to have cheekpieces on. He had some lovely pieces of form earlier in the season. Since then he’s been knocked but he made a bit of a noise in the Cleeve Hurdle, so he’s had a wind op. He’s schooled really well and hopefully the cheekpieces will help him concentrate at his fences. He has a lot of ability. I can’t wait to run him. I think he’s one of our biggest chances of the week.
Cue Card (2.50) is in marvellous form ahead of the Ryanair Chase. He bounced out of Ascot and if he is in that kind of form then he will run a big race.
Ultragold, Shanahans Turn Viconte Du Noyer and Quite By Chance are outsiders for the Brown Advisory & Merribelle Handicap Chase (4.10). Kilbricken Storm is 25-1 but should run well in the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle (2.50). We probably got greedy with him running him in the Challow as it was only two weeks after he won at Cheltenham. He’s a nice little horse and he deserves to be there.
Native River has done all his preparation now for his Timico Gold Cup bid (3.30). We just have to get him there in one piece.
I’m really looking forward to seeing him run. I’m being told by lots of people that he’s going to win but I don’t want to start thinking like that because I know what a difficult race this is to win.
He goes there in great form, he’s ticked all the boxes, we haven’t missed a beat with him and he’s won his prep run well.
As long as we don’t have any hiccups over the next few days, there will be no excuses. What will be will be.
It was always the plan to run Grand Vision in the hunter chase again (4.10). For some reason he seems to have improved as a 12-year old. He ran in the race last year but he’s in much better form this year going into it.
Sizing Platinum will take his chance in the Grand Annual (5.30). It’s an ultra-competitive race but he was a good second to Fox Norton there so on his day he has a lot of ability. JOE TIZZARD has a blog which is regularly updated with all the Team Tizzard news –
http://news.coral.co.uk/blog/ joe-tizzard