Sky to strike for Tizzard
AMARILLO SKY has shown a decent level of form in three races over the smaller obstacles and can get off the mark in the Every Race Live On Racing TV Handicap Hurdle at Exeter.
Colin Tizzard’s five-yearold showed a lot of promise in two good novice hurdles in the autumn.
Fourth to Dusart and subsequent Betfair Hurdle victor Soaring Glory at Newbury, he filled the same position behind leading Supreme Novices’ Hurdle fancy Metier at Ascot.
He tried the hurly burly of a handicap for the first time at Warwick, finishing seventh of 18 behind Orkan. Plenty of improvement can be expected.
Aye Aye Charlie can finally open his account over fences in the Join Racing TV Now Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase.
Fergal
O’Brien’s charge has run seven times now in chase company, but his jumping has let him down on more than one occasion not least when third at Newcastle in November.
The nine-year-old was well fancied that day having run El Presente to two and a half lengths at Hereford the previous month, with the winner going on to land a thoroughly competitive handicap on his next outing.
Sent off joint-favourite, Aye Aye Charlie could not find any kind of rhythm at Gosforth Park and it was only his class that saw him stick with it to be beaten over nine lengths in third.
O’Brien is sure to have been putting in plenty of work on the schooling ground with this one and having spared him the worst of the winter ground, Aye Aye Charlie might finally have an opportunity to strike.
EDDIE Jones has revealed he has received apologetic phone calls from several of his England players following their Six Nations loss to Wales.
The visitors’ discipline was a major issue during their 40-24 defeat to Wayne Pivac’s men at the Principality Stadium.
And Jones says a number of players had personally admitted to him that they need to improve their own discipline on the pitch.
“No one goes out there and tries to give away penalties. Everyone is working hard but sometimes players just over-exert in certain areas,” Jones said.
“Those players we’ll have a quiet chat to and they’ve been reflecting on it. I’ve had at least three or four players ring me during the week to talk about how they need to tend to their errors. That’s the great honesty of this team. We’ll keep working on that.
“There are other little bits and pieces you can do, but the main thing is to understand your responsibility at that point in the game.
“We looked at the Wales game. We’re disappointed that we didn’t handle that last 20 minutes better. Unfortunately we didn’t finish that game off well.”
■ JUSTIN Tipuric has hailed team-mate Alun Wyn Jones as the Wales captain bids for a incredible fourth Grand Slam.
Jones has already been part of Six Nations clean sweeps in 2008, 2012 and 2019. A fourth would be as many as both England and Ireland have won since five became six in 2000.
“He’s crazy,” Tipuric told the Daily Mail.
“I’ve always spoken so highly of him and will continue to - just the way he applies himself every day, doing the things you guys don’t see.
“He’s calm but always runs around in training like a madhead. You’d swear he was a 17-year-old running out there!
“It is little things like being the first in and last out of the gym how he keeps himself going, sets his standards, how frustrated he gets if he makes the one mistake in training, a little thing he will beat himself up about and will then make himself 100 times better next time round.
“He sets the standards.”