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Novice Chase races are named so for a reason, one that members of the racing public and some of the press apparently fail to realise. The generally small fields allow the horse time and space to get organised and correctly prepared for the leap but it doesn’t suit all horses, just most. and he isn’t like “most” horses. To my eye he was allowed to much time to think, hes coming from the fast paced world of top class hurdling and must have been wondering what the heck was going on, he showed by jumping a bit early at a couple of the obstacles that he was keen to get on with it. His early career showed a bit of inconsistency but he finally got the hang of things and hes not been at the track for that long at all really.
I just hope that all the speculation regarding his ability and the public analysis of dicky jumping continues with even greater fervency and zeal. It only ensures that his price will bigger next time out, and that would be rather nice.
Novice Chase races are named so for a reason, one that members of the racing public and some of the press apparently fail to realise. The generally small fields allow the horse time and space to get organised and correctly prepared for the leap but it doesn’t suit all horses, just most. and he isn’t like “most” horses. To my eye he was allowed to much time to think, hes coming from the fast paced world of top class hurdling and must have been wondering what the heck was going on, he showed by jumping a bit early at a couple of the obstacles that he was keen to get on with it. His early career showed a bit of inconsistency but he finally got the hang of things and hes not been at the track for that long at all really.
I just hope that all the speculation regarding his ability and the public analysis of dicky jumping continues with even greater fervency and zeal. It only ensures that his price will bigger next time out, and that would be rather nice.
I don’t go along with this, this argument that he was allowed too much time to think. More likely he’s making these mistakes because he’s an inexperienced chaser. However the level of ability to start with he’s still a novice over fences.
It appears to me that you and others are framing this argument, to excuse his errors, to suit your original opinion of the horse.
The horse he could most be compared with is Carvill’s hill, and perhaps Kauto star as well. Both had huge engines and were prone to throwing in the odd howler. The problem is that poor level of jumping ultimately undid Carvill’s in the gold cup, and by the time Kauto Star ran and won in the big one he was already a seasoned chaser (he fell the first time he ran at the festival.)
As for his price, he won’t be anything but long odds on unless he’s meeting experienced chasers.
Judge. Carvill’s Hill was a highly inconsistent jumper who could not bend his back. Thistlecrack has made one mistake in two outings and makes the classic shape of a natural steeplechaser over a fence. Chalk and cheese.
I’d urge those who’ve watched the race just once to do so again on the Jockey Club site where you can choose full screen. Note the obvious enthusiasm of the horse when given his head going out past the stands and again when Marinero tried to get to him. But most of all watch his jumping.
Judge. Carvill’s Hill was a highly inconsistent jumper who could not bend his back. Thistlecrack has made one mistake in two outings and makes the classic shape of a natural steeplechaser over a fence. Chalk and cheese.
I’d urge those who’ve watched the race just once to do so again on the Jockey Club site where you can choose full screen. Note the obvious enthusiasm of the horse when given his head going out past the stands and again when Marinero tried to get to him. But most of all watch his jumping.
It’s up to you Steeple but I don’t think you can appease the knockers. Only the horse can shut them up and even if he does win a Gold Cup some of these die hards would still be having a pop.
I know it is only a handful of posters with multiple posts but the level of negativity towards this horse is bordering on the ridiculous.
Judge. Carvill’s Hill was a highly inconsistent jumper who could not bend his back. Thistlecrack has made one mistake in two outings and makes the classic shape of a natural steeplechaser over a fence. Chalk and cheese.
I’d urge those who’ve watched the race just once to do so again on the Jockey Club site where you can choose full screen. Note the obvious enthusiasm of the horse when given his head going out past the stands and again when Marinero tried to get to him. But most of all watch his jumping.
It’s up to you Steeple but I don’t think you can appease the knockers. Only the horse can shut them up and even if he does win a Gold Cup some of these die hards would still be having a pop.
I know it is only a handful of posters with multiple posts but the level of negativity towards this horse is bordering on the ridiculous.
Maybe you could be kind enough to point out where the negativity is ridiculous.
All I am doing is pointing out that the horse is inexperienced and therefore it’s a risky decision to go for the gold cup.
If anything it’s the hype that surrounds this horse that has reached ridiculous levels.
Had he been foot perfect yesterday he’d still be inexperienced and we’d be hearing he has not beaten anything instead like we do about Douvan.
Gaelic Warrior Gold Cup Winner 2026
No negativity at all. Over the past 20 years we’ve had dozens of horses achieving even more on their first two chase starts than Thistlecrack, yet none of them was 7/2 after “forgetting” their hind legs in a ditch twice.
The only realistic assessment is that he is a very exciting novice with some engine. But he has a lot of work ahead of him and after his next two starts we should really know in which direction he is heading.
I wouldn’t mind, if connections would prefer the Berkshire instead of the Worcester. At least some speedier 2m 4f horses could dare to take him on. At the moment a tilt at the KG doesn’t look to realistic, considering that he might he just one more Mickey Mouse prep race prior to it.
By the way, looking at the Tizzard stable right now, he could enter almost anything he wants to in the GC. They are in incredible form and even the new arrivals seem to enjoy themselves there.
Good luck to them!
Novice Chase races are named so for a reason, one that members of the racing public and some of the press apparently fail to realise. The generally small fields allow the horse time and space to get organised and correctly prepared for the leap but it doesn’t suit all horses, just most. and he isn’t like “most” horses. To my eye he was allowed to much time to think, hes coming from the fast paced world of top class hurdling and must have been wondering what the heck was going on, he showed by jumping a bit early at a couple of the obstacles that he was keen to get on with it. His early career showed a bit of inconsistency but he finally got the hang of things and hes not been at the track for that long at all really.
I just hope that all the speculation regarding his ability and the public analysis of dicky jumping continues with even greater fervency and zeal. It only ensures that his price will bigger next time out, and that would be rather nice.
I don’t go along with this, this argument that he was allowed too much time to think. More likely he’s making these mistakes because he’s an inexperienced chaser. However the level of ability to start with he’s still a novice over fences.
It appears to me that you and others are framing this argument, to excuse his errors, to suit your original opinion of the horse.
The horse he could most be compared with is Carvill’s hill, and perhaps Kauto star as well. Both had huge engines and were prone to throwing in the odd howler. The problem is that poor level of jumping ultimately undid Carvill’s in the gold cup, and by the time Kauto Star ran and won in the big one he was already a seasoned chaser (he fell the first time he ran at the festival.)
As for his price, he won’t be anything but long odds on unless he’s meeting experienced chasers.
Hello Judge, thanks for the considered reply, I am not a Thistlecrack fanboy, far from it. The point I was trying to make, rather poorly by your impression, is not that he was ridden poorly and given to much time to think. Rather that the slower pace of a Novice chase, as compared to a group 1 hurdle, coupled with the lower quality opposition and a pace that he was not accustomed to made him a bit eager as I think he showed by taking off early. He doesnt strike me as an Exotic Dancer type, who squandered a couple of good races by poor jumping at the last couple of fences. This feller looks to me like he can jump a bus. He will just need a few more outings to adjust to the more sedate pace of things in chases, This bodes well in my view as when things quicken up a bit and he rises in class he already has the tools in the box. Whatever he does over the next few months, he still might not be the best horse going into the gold cup.
Fair enough space cowboy.
The question I want to ask for those of you who do fancy thistlecrack for the gold cup, is that can you name a high class staying hurdler who had an equally productive second career over fences?
In recent years I can name Mywaydesolzen, but apart from winning a weak arkle I don’t think he did much.
Come to think of it can you name a top rank hurdler full stop who did equally well over fences? Dawn Run I suppose.
Thistlecrack’s jumping is nothing like Carvills Hill.
At the moment, if there is a horse to compare Thistlecrack’s jumping with imo it is Desert Orchid’s early days.
This is how Timeform descried his novice season in Chasers And Hurdlers 1985/86:
…“bold jumping front runner, inclined to make the odd costly mistake… now and again he’d throw himself at a fence”.
However, there’s time yet for Thistlecrack’s exhuberance to turn from Dessie to Coneygree.
Value Is EverythingJust for good measure, I watched the replay again (full screen mode on). Hopefully, the Tizzards have a good equine physio as that mistake at the first ditch will not have done his back any good at all. As Joe says, he hits it right whack on the stifle, and it’s only his immense strength that gets him through the fence and moving forwards again – which isn’t to say that he hasn’t done himself any damage.
Jumping-wise, I’d still say anything non-regulation is a concern. I wonder if this is to do with the different sight-line and ground line on these fences, and the way this encourages a horse to arc differently over them? No, he isn’t a Carvill’s Hill; neither is he a Big Buck’s over fences – he’s a better jumper than that but he is a horse who has spent over two seasons running over hurdles (11 races). Getting them to make the transition later is always harder. NJH’s prevarications over Altior make this point, and – other than Dessie & Moscow – I am struggling to think of a horse who spent two seasons running in the top flight over hurdles and then went on to succeed spectacularly over jumps. Dawn Run I suppose – but that didn’t end well; neither did Lanzarote. Bula and Night Nurse both turned to fences later, but neither were as good over them as over hurdles. Then there’s Oscar Whisky in my recent memory.
Thistlecrack is a very big, galloping horse (17hh +?) whose primary asset currently is his immense engine, rather than his jumping. Like others, I’d be concerned about bringing him out again quickly to try to address the jumping issues – and I’m also not convinced by the suggestion of bringing him back in trip. If he’s to go for the GC he needs to learn to jump economically and consistently accurately and at the pace of top staying chasers, not be going a stride (or more) faster with the JLT or Arkle aspirants. I’d be going Feltham with him and then onto the Denman if all has gone well at Christmas i.e. the Coneygree route.
i think c tizzard has done a great job with THISTLECRACK but what price would he be now if trained by mullins. so depends on what you think value is
Right now, the Feltham seems the more probable route. But first it’s Newbury and as already stated I’d like to have him rather in the shorter Berkshire than in the Worcester. Just hoping for more opposition.
Joe Tizzard talking a lot of sense
“He’s absolutely fine. He’s 100%. He ate up when he got home and didn’t have a particularly hard race,” Joe Tizzard, the trainer’s son and assistant, told at The Races.
“We saw the race as a positive. The overall performance was impressive as ever. We purposely took him to Cheltenham on his second run to get experience there over fences.
“I had a long chat with Tom Scudamore this morning. He was in second gear and was going too well.
“The first ditch he’s had a little guess at it and come up a fraction early. The second one he got there. If he’s going to stand off, he gets there.
“It’s all part of the learning curve and I think in a truer-run race those issues wouldn’t have happened and certainly once Tom let him bowl on and go that extra gear faster, he was a lot more accurate.
“We want to get plenty of experience into him so we’re going to go to the novice chase at the Hennessy meeting and then he’ll head to Kempton on Boxing Day.
“There are no definites on which race he’ll go for yet, but at the moment I’d say dad and I are swaying towards the Feltham (Kauto Star Novices’ Chase).”
Gaelic Warrior Gold Cup Winner 2026
Even though I’ve had a small bet for the KG, Feltham would be the sensible route and I hope they take it. March is the time to prove just how good he is
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