Joe Tizzard Cheltenham Festival 2025 day two blog

Cheltenham Festival 2025 kicks off on March 11 and Joe Tizzard has shared his next exclusive blog with Coral for day two on Wednesday, previewing his runner.

JPR One had the option of the Queen Mother Champion Chase or the Grand Annual, and having given it plenty of thought, we’ve opted for the latter. Going the handicap route does mean he has to carry top weight, but the Queen Mother looks a proper Grade 1, and we probably have to accept he’s not quite at that level.

That said, the form of his Exeter win over Djelo at the start of the season looks very good now, and he ran well to finish third behind Jonbon in the Tingle Creek, so he has the class to run a big race here, and he will love the ground. Whether or not there might be something lurking towards the bottom of the handicap that is well in, we’ll just have to wait and see.

As I say above, this is a proper renewal of this race, and if Jonbon is to win his first Queen Mother, he will have to beat a classy field. He could well, as he’s been the best two-miler in Britain this season, but Solness has won two big races in Ireland from the front, and could set another fierce gallop here, which might test Jonbon’s jumping.

Energumene is a two-time race winner and so has to be respected, even aged 11, while Marine Nationale was a brilliant Supreme winner, and a big chase success for him would not be a surprise. I don’t have a strong view on who the winner might be, but just talking about the runners makes me realise we’re doing the right thing running JPR One in the Grand Annual!

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