Thistlecrack injury blow rules him out of Gold Cup
LuckLess Thistlecrack will miss the Timico cheltenham Gold cup for the second successive year after connections discovered the former king George winner has suffered a stress fracture.
The 2016 Gold cup winner, trained by colin Tizzard, only returned to action last month after 10 months out with a tendon injury.
A modest hurdling comeback at Newbury was followed by a fourthplace finish on his return to kempton in the king George. Now the 10-year- old is set for another prolonged spell on the sidelines.
kim Tizzard, assistant trainer to her father colin, told At The Races: ‘He was a little bit stiff behind after the king George and he’s been off and had X-rays and bone scans.
‘He has a small hairline fracture and he misses the Gold cup and probably the rest of the season. He ran a screamer at kempton and jumped really well and we were getting excited that the old Thistlecrack was still there.’
Thistlecrack was heralded as the biggest talent in jump racing after winning the king George in 2016. Tizzard added: ‘Hopefully he’ll have his box rest and come back next season. We’re gutted for the team, the owners, everyone. But we’ve still got a horse at the end of the day.’
Highly rated Irish novice chaser Death Duty has suffered an injury to a hind joint and will also miss the rest of the season.