Joe Tizzard: “We certainly haven’t lost any faith in Lostintranslation”
Coral ambassador previews the Tizzard stables’ Gold Cup Day runners
Cheltenham 14.10 – Eldorado Allen
Eldorado Allen is a nice horse, but he picked up an injury at Aintree last season, meaning he was out for over a year.
Despite that absence the handicapper didn’t miss after his first run back at Sandown, and then we possibly ran him a bit too soon back at Sandown in the Contenders Hurdle.
Rated 150, he’s got top weight here in a very competitive race, but whatever happens here, he’s a lovely horse who will go novice chasing next season, and I’m convinced he’ll be top class.
Cheltenham 14.50 – Harry Senior & Lieutenant Rocco
We run two nice ones in the Albert Bartlett. Harry Senior has just improved all season, we were a bit disappointed second time up at Exeter, but as it turned out he was beaten by Sporting John, who went on to win a Grade 2.
He loved the two-and-a-half miles trip here on Festival Trials day, when he won well, and he should appreciate the extra half mile here too, so if he carries on improving as he has done so far this campaign, he should have a chance in a wide open race.
Lieutenant Rocco is still totally unexposed, and we just don’t know where he might end up. He’s won his two novice hurdles impressively, beating a solid 132 horse with a penalty last time, and it wasn’t an easy decision for Robbie [Power] to choose Harry Senior over this fellow, as he doesn’t know how good Lieutenant Rocco could be.
He jumps and gallops, and he’s a big strong horse who will make a lovely chaser, but as far as this race is concerned, we just don’t know how he’ll run, it might be too big a step for him, but it might not be!
Cheltenham 15.30 – Elegant Escape and Lostintranslation
We run another pair in the Gold Cup. Elegant Escape is a horse who will always have to carry big weights in handicaps, so it was a fairly easy decision to run him here off levels.
We do have one eye on next month’s Grand National for him, but if it comes up soft here, turns into a bit of a slog, he’ll be one doing all his best work at the end.
We can rule out his last run, at Haydock, it just never happened for him that day, but Jonjo [O’Neill] has schooled him and they went well.
He finished sixth in last year’s Gold Cup, and we’d be delighted with a repeat of that. If he comes out of the race well it would be all systems go for Aintree.
Lostintranslation seems in great form at home, and we’ve also taken him away for a racecourse gallop. We did tweak his wind after the King George, and he looks a million dollars.
Unlike for Elegant Escape though, it’s a case of the drier the ground the better for him, so far this week it has looked quite testing out there.
It is a wide-open Gold Cup, and I’d be disappointed if Lost wasn’t travelling two furlongs out, and then we would be entering the unknown, that final two furlongs up the Cheltenham hill.
We have to put a line through his Kempton run, that wasn’t him at all, but on his Haydock form he comes here with a great chance. We certainly haven’t lost any faith in him.
Of all their rivals, Al Boum Photo would be the one I respect the most. He’s been there and done it, and although winning back-to-back Gold Cups is not going to be easy, Willie Mullins has given him the same prep as last year, he comes here fresh, and looks the one to beat.
Joe
