Joe Tizzard: “The sky is the limit with The Big Breakaway”
Coral ambassador previews the Tizzard stables’ Cheltenham Day Two runners
13.30 Cheltenham (Ballymore Novice Hurdle) – The Big Breakaway and Getaway Fred
The Big Breakaway is a hugely talented horse. He cost quite a bit and we hold him in extremely high regard. His form has been exceptional. He has to now go and do it in what is a hugely competitive Ballymore but the sky is the limit with this horse.
We would have just liked to see him go and have another run. He was all set to go for the Grade 2 novice hurdle on trials day at Cheltenham but he banged his hock three days before and had to miss the race. But he’s in beautiful form at home and this is the next step for him and we’ll see how good he is.
Getaway Fred has been a good solid honest horse, and he’s going to give his owners a lovely day out and if he can finish in the first five or six then we’ll be over the moon. He won’t lose anything for the experience and we are not going there just for the sake of it as he’s a decent horse. His owners are going to have a great time, and he’ll learn plenty from it.
14.10 Cheltenham (RSA Novices Chase) – Slate House and Copperhead
If you’d said twelve months ago that Copperhead would be a leading contender for the RSA then we wouldn’t have believed you, but he’s been so progressive through the season, especially over fences.
He will cope with the ground very well and he could end up anywhere. I believe he needs to take another step forward to be winning this, but he could well do that. He’s very straightforward and he travels and he stays which is what you need. I’m not putting anyone off him but he does need to improve again to win this. He came out of Ascot really well and he could well do.
If we hadn’t have run Slate House in the Cotswold Chase then he would be a lot shorter in the betting than he is. He’s a Grade 1 winner of the Kauto Star, and he travelled really well that day and just did it on the bridle until he had to give him a little squeeze after the last.
He’s been very competitive in one of the best handicaps, when he fell two out when looking like he was going to go close. I think he’s over-priced, I really do. He’s in great form at home, you can forget his last run, and he’ll just travel into it.
I spoke to Robbie Power and I said he couldn’t desert Slate House after what he’d done on him, and that there wasn’t much between the two of ours in the race.
15.30 Cheltenham (Queen Mother Champion Chase)
If I had the choice I’d ride Defi Du Seuil. I’m a bit biased as he has lots of form with Lostintranslation, and that’s great form.
I was very impressed with him at Ascot last time. It was a slowly run race and he really picked up well. You need to stay too and he does that.
He’s a seven year old that’s won seven Grade Ones, which proves how good he is. That’s not taking anything away from Altior and Chacun Pour Soi, but you’d have to think about the concern over Altior in the last couple of days. It’s not ideal.
Joe
