Veteran hopes to be on cue in King George

BRAVE stayer Cue Card will endeavour to show his precociously talented novice stablemate Thistlecrack there’s still life in the old legs in the King George VI Chase today.

Cue Card has two years and many top-class wins under his belt over his fellow Colin Tizzard-trained star, but Thistlecrack has taken to the larger obstacles – he had no peers over hurdles last season – with such elan he could even start as favourite.

Such is their respective reputations that many have taken fright and only three others will go to post – the smallest field since 1984 – for the winner’s prize of £119,000 ($146,000).

For Cue Card, though, victory will put him one win away – in the blue riband Cheltenham Gold Cup i n March next year – for a £1 million bonus having already won the first of the “Triple Crown”, the Betfair Lancashire Chase earlier this term.

His hopes of it last season were dashed when having won the first two legs he came to grief in the Gold Cup.

Tizzard, who has been training since 1994 when he set up on the family farm in the South West of England, says he is blessed to have two such outstanding horses but t he 60-year-old has a soft spot for the old warrior.

“Cue Card has always been the apple of my eye since he won the Champion Bumper in 2010,” said Tizzard.

“He has been strutting his stuff in the big races for six years now.

“He is still a good horse. No doubt if he arrives on his A game then he will take a lot of beating. “He is just a happy horse.” Thistlecrack for Tizzard is an entirely different type of horse, and he is not overly complimentary about his looks.

“He is a great brute and resembles more a hunter,” said Tizzard, whose son, former jockey Joe, is his assistant.

“However, when we get him to the races and we put a saddle on him he looks fantastic.”

Chief danger to spoiling a Tizzard 1-2 should be the twotime winner of the race Silviniaco Conti trained by champion trainer Paul Nicholls.

He was well beaten by Cue Card in the Betfair, but Nicholls, whose horses a re i n f i ne fettle at the moment, believes it was his fau lt for r unning him too soon after his prev ious outing.

“I don’t expect him to beat t hem, but he is better racing right-handed. And whatever people say you have to stay to be c ompet it ive i n a K i ng George, and we know he stays extra well,” said Nicholls, who has g iven his r unner a spin out hu nt i ng to ke ep h i m focused.

The other two runners are Josses Hill, who tries 3 miles (4,800 metres) for the first time, and Tea For Two, who will be ridden by woman jockey Lizzie Kelly for her stepfather Nick Williams.

Kelly, 23, rode Tea For Two to v ictor y in t he Grade One Kauto Star Chase at Kempton la st yea r, a nd despite on ly t hree winners t hus fa r t his season she says they are not without hope.

“The race itself should play into his hands,” said Kelly.

“There’s a glimmer of hope there!”