Joe Tizzard: Cheltenham December meeting stable tour

With the countdown to Christmas well and truly on, trainer Joe Tizzard hopes he can continue his flying start to the season by securing an early present later this week across what promises to be another two-days of entertaining action at Cheltenham. 

There were few trainers who walked away from the track following the conclusion of the November Meeting as happy as the Milborne Port handler, who celebrated three winners across the meeting highlighted by Alexei in the Unibet Greatwood Handicap Hurdle.

And the now-retired Grade One-winning rider is looking forward to making his return to a place that has been a happy hunting ground both in, and out of the saddle, with a team he feels is more than capable of upholding his fine start to the 2025/26 National Hunt season.

Tizzard said: “It has been an unbelievable start to the season as they have really hit the straps and they are running really well. They have been consistent and we have had the winners to go with it. We are in a lovely little bubble at the moment and long may it continue.  

“The November Meeting at Cheltenham was a particularly good one for us with the likes of Eldorado Allen and Triple Trade winning, and to top it off with Alexei winning the Greatwood Hurdle was fantastic.

“It is a nice little team we are taking there this time, and we think they can be competitive. I will be very lucky if we have a weekend like we did there in November, but hopefully everything we will take there this time will run their race and prove good enough.”

“It is quite likely he will go there. He won really impressively at Exeter in an ordinary race and we want to find a bit out about him. 

“For a horse that had only run in one point-to-point he looked fairly streetwise at Exeter. 

“It looks like a wide open race at this stage, but we want to know where we stand with him. 

“I was half tempted to run him in the introductory hurdle at Haydock Park last week but John (Romans, owner) couldn't make it so we are coming here. I rate the horse as he is a lovely individual, but he now has to pass the next step on the ladder.”

12.40 - Santa - "The Visit”- "Chasing Excellence" Novices’ Chase/12.40 Michael Eakins Senior Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase (Saturday).

“If the race on Friday cuts up to three or four runners you would go for a spin around there. He has just taken a couple of runs to get the hang of things. At Kempton Park I thought he was a ridiculously short-price in a handicap like that.

“Nobody had suggested he was twenty pounds well in, but he ran well and is starting to get the hang of jumping. 

“He didn’t have loads of racing last season and when he was thrown in at the deep end he didn’t really turn up. He just needs to learn to race properly. 

“He is not the quickest in the world and around Kempton Park if they go half-a-gear quicker than what is comfortable you can often see stayers get exposed and I think that is what happened to him. 

“The ground will be a factor as I don’t want him off his feet over two and a half miles, but if there is only three or four in that then that might be the way to go. 

“I still think there is a bit to work on and we are trying to get him a bit more streetwise. I think he will be competitive wherever he goes, but at the same time I’m not sure we will see the best of him yet.”

“He will probably run, but I’ve had a few issues with him. He got colic in the spring and he had to have a big operation. He was always qualified for the Veterans’ Final at Sandown Park and I would love to get a run into him before that. 

“This would be a prep run for Sandown Park. He ran a blinder in this race last year when he just got beaten by Numitor and Eldorado Allen was third so he loves it around there. 

“He has just had those couple of hold ups and the target is very much Sandown Park."

“It was always the plan to come back here for this race as the track and the trip suit him down to the ground. He has come out of his last race there well. The handicapper has nudged him back up again in the weights, but he is full of himself at home and I’m looking forward to running him. 

“Those older horses touch you a bit deeper when they win. I was proud of him the other day and the longevity of them is your favourite part.

“I would have thought Eldorado Allen would turn the tables in the race with Copperhead, however if he produces what he did at the last meeting everything will have a job to beat him.” 

“I was a bit disappointed with her up at Bangor the other day. She showed a few signs of being in season and she didn’t really travel. We are going to pop some blinkers on her and take her to Cheltenham. I will give her a pop over a fence in them on Wednesday morning.

"She is one of those where the handicapper pretty much has her where she needs to be. When she decides to go she has got plenty of ability, but you are not quite sure what Ilovethenightlife will turn up. 

“She was second last time, but it wasn’t a very pleasant watch as she was on and off the bridle and she jumped a bit right handed. She did plug on for second so you would have thought they would have dropped her a little bit. 

"She needs to perform better than that to be competitive on Saturday, but she has bounced out of Bangor and she seems really well at home, so maybe she was just showing signs of being in season.”

“He ran really nicely at Ascot last time and he appears to have come out of that well. If it is decent ground I think we will go.

“We put him in cheekpieces at Ascot and he seemed to run a solid race in them. He got cut up a couple of times up the straight as well. He ran a lovely race and galloped on right the way to the line. 

“The handicapper jacked him straight back up two pounds for that so it is not easy where you go with him. 

“It was nice to see him handle slightly slower ground at Ascot, and I would have taken him back there, but the handicapper has stopped us running in 0-150 races so I’ve probably got to go to Cheltenham."

“There is also the race at Ascot for Triple Trade, that he won a couple of years ago the week after. It was great to see him get his head back in front at Cheltenham the last day, and he clearly likes it there, and we know he gets a bit further than this. 

“He will turn ten on January 1st so we will try and qualify him for that veterans’ middle distance series final. He has got the two options and we will weigh it up as the week goes on.”

“I will probably will run Kasino Des Mottes here. He is nothing flashy at home, but the more you ask of him the more you get. He run nicely around Cheltenham first time out on ground that was plenty quick enough for him.

“He sharpened up a bit for that first run and he then dug deep and won nicely against a horse of Nicky Henderson’s that has bolted up at Plumpton since. 

“The race at Kempton Park was over two miles and five furlongs and he was only just getting going at the end that day.

“He is not flashy on a racecourse, but he has run two lovely races for us. Western Knight was second in the race for us last year and at the moment he is nearly on a par with where he was this time last year. 

“The New course is a more staying track and that should also help him here going back over three miles. I don’t quite know how good he is and I would like to find out to be honest.”

“She has been winning on decent ground. Last time at Wincanton was a bit of a stab in the dark, but she came good. She has grown in confidence and seems full of herself. 

“She wasn’t exposed to begin with. She is a big girl and we have just been really patient with her and brought her along steadily so she has ended up on a nice mark. 

“She has filled into her frame and she is starting to fulfil herself. We are now starting to get a bit more serious, but she was always a better mare than what her mark was. 

“It was a decent pot she won last time and that is why we are in this league now. 

“She deserves to be in these races now and she has got no choice either.”