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Tizzard Trio Dominate Thrilling November

Thistkecrack - NewburyThistkecrack - Newbury
© Photo Healy Racing

In a month that saw the legendary Sprinter Sacre retired after picking up a leg injury, we have seen several of the sports stars strutting their stuff on the jump racing scene in the UK. The heavens finally opened after a dry autumn which was music to the ears of most trainers and the big fixtures came thick and fast.

The Open Meeting at Cheltenham is always a stellar three days and there was a whole host of performances to scribble down into our notebooks. Chief among those was Thistlecrack who made his 2nd start over fences at Prestbury Park for Colin Tizzard and he duly made it 2-2 with a relatively straightforward win.

It wasn’t all plain sailing for the World Hurdle hero though with one or two jumping mistakes on his way to this latest success but there is no doubting what’s under the bonnet with this horse, and he proved that later in the month at Newbury when not touching a twig to win the Worcester Novices’ Chase and the Gold cup appears to still be the aim for him.

Taquin Du Seuil bounced back to his best to claim the Bet Victor Gold Cup for Jonjo O’Neill and he now enters the ante-post Ryanair Chase picture, whilst Fox Norton continued his sharp upward curve with a fantastic win in the Shloer Chase and he could well be the best we have this side of the Irish Sea when it comes to the Champion Chase in 2017.

Moon Racer -Cheltenham
©Healy Racing Photos
Elsewhere during the Open Meeting, Moon Racer shortened up in the Supreme betting following his win the Sharp Novices’ Hurdle which saw him beat Ballyandy for the 2nd time this term, and O O Seven produced a lovely round of jumping on his chase debut to win the Steel Plate and Sections Novices Chase, in a contest that saw Barters Hill pick up a likely season ending injury.

The Betfair Chase has grown into one of the best races on the calendar over the past ten years and we once again saw a stunning renewal of the Haydock Park contest.

2015 Gold Cup winner, Coneygree, returned after a yearlong absence and he immediately adopted his old tactics with Richard Johnson taking the horse to the front and setting a searing gallop.

The Mark Bradstock horse ran well for a long way, especially given his lay-off, but he was no match for the brilliant Cue Card who travelled like a dream in behind the pace before pulling well clear of the field to claim another famous win.

Cue Card - Haydock
©Healy Racing Photos
Cue Card bounced back from a slightly below par run in the Charlie Hall last time out to win the Betfair Chase for a 3rd time and hopes are now high he can defend his King George crown on Boxing Day before another tilt at the Gold Cup in March. £1million bonus?

November also saw the return of Neptune runner-up Yanworth with the Alan King trained horse winning the Coral Hurdle at Ascot. The JP McManus owned 6YO could yet go down the Champion Hurdle route, as he is clearly not short of speed, but the way he ground out the victory at Ascot would point towards a step up in trip with the Long Walk Hurdle a potential target for him in the next few weeks.

There was a popular winner of the Hennessy Gold Cup on the final Saturday of the month as Native River claimed the big race for the increasingly powerful Colin Tizzard stable. It was a fine performance from the 6YO and in the process he finally gave Richard Johnson his first win in the Hennessy as the horse held off Carole’s Destrier in a fantastic finish and both could have a big season ahead.

The Neil Mulholland trained Carole’s Destrier ran a massive race on seasonal debut and would have a major chance in the Welsh Grand National just after Christmas, whilst Native River could take in the Gold Cup in the spring with Colin Tizzard considering letting him take on illustrious stable-mates Cue Card and Thistlecrack in March.

www.jumpsracing.co.uk

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