Cue Card© Photo Healy Racing
With the Cheltenham Festival now looming large on the horizon, connections of the leading lights are completing preparations on both sides of the Irish Sea.
It will not be long before huge crowds descend on Prestbury Park and Cue Card warmed up nicely for the world’s premier jumps meeting at the weekend with victory in the Grade One Betfair Ascot Chase.
It was a ninth top level success for Colin Tizzard's superb chaser who is now set to take his chance in next month’s Gold Cup and has moved to the head of the market following Tuesday's awful news that stablemate Thistlecrack is out for the rest of the season with a tendon injury. Thistlecrack had been Gold Cup favourite throughout the Winter ahead of the other pair of Tizzard star chasers Cue Card and Hennessy Gold Cup and Welsh Grand National winner Native River.
If one was going to offer any Cheltenham tips for the Gold Cup it remains most likely that Colin Tizzard will train the winner but it is very hard to split his pair. Perhaps Cue Card possesses a little more class and just about deserves the nod.
Yanworth will now head to the Festival after victory in the Betway Kingwell Hurdle at Wincanton and the manner of his success augers well for Cheltenham.
He had been passed by both Sceau Royal and Ch'tibello approaching the last and looked in trouble before Barry Geraghty asked for more and his mount responded, proving that he should have the stamina to cope with the famous Cheltenham hill in the Stan James Champion Hurdle.
Nicky Henderson is always a force at the Festival and, in nine-year-old Whisper, has a horse with recent winning form in the Gloucestershire countryside.
A Cheltenham winner in both December and January - taking the Dipper Novices' Chase on New Year's Day - the son of Astarabad might go in the RSA Chase or the JLT.
The Seven Barrows handler is undecided but has been advised that three miles might be better for the gelding this time around.
Harry Fry©Healy Racing PhotosHarry Fry is busy getting his charges ready for the Festival and has high hopes for American in the RSA Chase.
The winner of a Listed race at Warwick last month, the seven-year-old will line up next month providing that conditions suit as he needs the ground to be on the slower side — but there is no doubting his jumping ability.
Options are now open for Zarkandar who scored in the Grade Two Betfred Rendlesham Hurdle at Haydock.
The 10-year-old downed stablemate Aux Ptits Soins and may well race in the Stayers Hurdle next month although trainer Paul Nicholls admits that he favours a trip to Aintree for the multiple Grade One winner as he has never got the trip at Cheltenham.
In Ireland we saw a remarkable front-running display from Acapella Bourgeois. Sandra Hughes watched Acapella Bourgeois put on an excellent display to land the Ten Up Novice Chase at Navan but confessed that conditions will determine whether or not the seven-year-old will travel to Cheltenham.
Raced exclusively in Ireland to date, the son of Network made all to win by a massive 32 lengths at the weekend and is entered in the RSA Chase.
Hughes confirmed her intention to run the gelding at the Festival but he likes heavy testing ground and, should it be good next month, he “might give it a miss”.
