Tizzard Lifts the Lid On His Cheltenham Festival Fancies Just prior to the Cheltenham Festival, it is customary for the leading trainers to give the media something of a stable tour, showcasing their contenders for the Prestbury Park meeting in all their glory. Willie Mullins has already let the cameras into his Closutton yard, and this week his compatriot, Colin Tizzard, let the media inside his Dorset facility to take a look at his main charges. It’s always interesting to hear how each trainer thinks their entries will perform, and punters can often learn a lot about where a particular runner is in their preparation. For his part, Tizzard served up an opinion on his three key challengers at the Festival. Native River The Gold Cup-winning trainer has a trio of high-quality entries for the Festival’s flagship race once more, and the defending champion Native River is his most likely contender, according to the man himself. The nine-year-old was beaten last time out in the King George VI Chase, but Tizzard believes his charge showed enough at a track that didn’t suit to confirm he will contend at Cheltenham once more. Kempton is a right-handed course, and Tizzard has suggested that he doesn’t think Native River is well-suited to such conditions. But his horse stayed on well, and the trainer himself is on record as saying he believes he would have caught the victor that day, Clan Des Obeaux, with another couple of furlongs to play with. He will be afforded that luxury in the Gold Cup. The Tizzard yard also has Thistlecrack and Elegant Escape entered, and they will all be looking to out-gun the favourite, Presenting Percy, who is something of a lukewarm fancy given his preference for soft-to-heavy ground. Native River would like it a touch softer for sure, and like many assembling for the meeting, rain will be a great help if it arrives as forecast over the next week. Should the spring showers come early, you can expect Native River to be well-backed and feature prominently in selections such as myracing's Cheltenham tips, in which all four days of the Festival will be covered. Lostintranslation Tizzard is mob-handed as far as the JLT Novices’ Chase is concerned, and his charge Lostintranslation is battling it out with Defi Du Seuil for the favourite spot in the ante-post market. The trainer was particularly effusive in his praise for the seven-year-old and said that he had even contemplated entering him in the RSA Chase, but a penchant for two and a half miles sealed the deal elsewhere. This is a fantastic rivalry, with both earning a win over the other: Lostintranslation triumphing in the Dipper Novices’ Chase at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day before Defi Du Seuil had his revenge in the Scilly Isles Novices’ Chase in February. The margins of victory — one length and three-quarters of a length — show just how well matched the duo are. Tizzard has claimed that Lostintranslation is a Gold Cup horse in waiting, with stamina being his main asset over speed, and if the rain falls, he could well extend his winning run at Prestbury Park. Fox Norton Something of a forgotten horse on the National Hunt circuit, Tizzard is hoping his 'under the radar' nine-year-old can cause an upset in the Ryanair Chase. That’s the race that Fox Norton will be aimed at, which is probably wise given that Altior goes in the Champion Chase. While his trainer is concerned that his jumping was a bit 'flat' in his last outing at Ascot, Tizzard also believes his horse ran a nice race. The bay gelding won the Shloer Chase at Cheltenham back in 2017 and only lost by a head to Special Tiara in the Champion Chase that same year.
