Cue Card in top form ahead of King George Ante-post favourite Cue Card heads into the William Hill King George VI Chase on Boxing Day with stamina assured after his heroics at Haydock last month. Only fifth at Kempton 12 months ago, Colin Tizzard's Ryanair Chase hero could only manage third on his Exeter reappearance but then ran his rivals ragged when upped to three miles for the Betfair Chase at Haydock. "We're absolutely delighted with him and he came out of the Haydock race very well," said Tizzard snr. "I thought he was nearly unbeatable at Exeter, but apparently the last win in a handicap off his rating was Denman (2009 Hennessy ) so that puts it into perspective. He didn't jump as well as he could have, for whatever reason, but he put that to bed at Haydock. The race brought him on and we were a bit harder on him. He takes it ever so well. "He looked as though he's a dour stayer. Most Champion Bumper horses have ended up three milers or three-mile plus and at Haydock he was in his comfort zone when the rest were going flat out. It was the first time he had run over (three miles), in last year's King George it wasn't his day, for whatever reason, but he put that to bed for the rest of the season." Jockey Joe Tizzard said: "He's in great form, the next time I rode him after Haydock was about 10 days after, he felt better again, and he's in tremendous form. At Exeter I came back and said we shouldn't run over that sort of trip again, he was giving lots of weight away and wasn't as fit as he can be but I genuinely think the horse that won at Haydock would have won at Exeter." Dual King George winner Long Run, fourth to Cue Card at Haydock, often wore cheekpieces in the past and now has a visor applied. Owner Robert Waley-Cohen said: "I love being under the radar this year. He has won three times and been second once at Kempton so it's a course that suits him. I think the older he gets, the longer it takes him to get fit but he is jumping much better than he did in his younger days. "He needs a good, fast pace. I never thought Cue Card would stay three miles the way he did at Haydock, so hats off to the Tizzard family - he's entitled to go there as the favourite." Pipe is expecting some improvement from Betfair Chase runner-up Dynaste, especially with the deteriorating conditions at the Sunbury course. He told At The Races: "It was our first run of the season (at Haydock) and we'd like to think we can get a little bit more out of him. He was very impressive in the Feltham last year, so obviously he likes the track and if this rain keeps falling, I think that will probably play to our strengths as well. "He wasn't good enough on the day last season at Cheltenham, but I'm not sure you saw the real Dynaste there. It was great to end the season winning at Aintree and he put in a career-best last time at Haydock, so he must be improving. "We haven't really looked much further than the King George. I expect he'll have an entry in the Gold Cup and I expect he'll have an entry in the Ryanair. You have to put the horse in the race that his best for him."
