Festival Watch: Tizzard admits that all roads go to Cheltenham

Suddenly, there are more questions than answers, a drizzle of rain can have you fretting over the ground, opinions abound, you start to doubt all you ever thought you knew.

There is a school of thought that the Festival has too strong a grip of jumps racing, the Flat season has many monuments – the early Spring classics, the Derby, Royal Ascot, mid-summer showpieces and a big-money finale at Champions Day.

For Jumps racing fans, all roads lead to Cheltenham, within seconds of crossing the line to win the King George VI Chase on Boxing Day – one of the sport's great prizes – Nicky Henderson was being asked about Might Bite's Gold Cup chances.

Cheltenham sucks the oxygen from the season but that's hardly the fault of the meeting – from jockeys, to punters to trainers, all agree it's the only show in town.

"This is horse racing's Olympics, people say Cheltenham shouldn't be everything but to me it is," said Colin Tizzard.

"Everything we gear ourselves up for is about the Festival and if we get one winner there we are delighted."

Despite plenty of chances Tizzard failed to hit the target with his 21 runners last year and didn't fare any better in 2014 or 2015.

But it's the memory of the winners – such as Thistlecrack's Stayers' Hurdle triumph two years ago – that keeps him coming back for more.

And he arrives at Prestbury Park with his fair share of live chances.

Native River is second favourite for the Gold Cup, his claims enhanced by the absence of last year's winner Sizing John, who withdrew this week, and the forecast rainy weather and predicted soft ground.

And then there is the popular Cue Card – who holds an entry for the big-event but is more likely to be targeted at a fascinating renewal of the Ryanair Chase, which was a target of another stable star, Fox Norton, until an untimely leg injury ruled him out for the season.

"You may not believe me but I don't feel any added pressure at Cheltenham," said Tizzard, who has five career winners at the meeting.

"You just hope to get the horses there in good form and then you find out how good they actually are. I still look around that parade ring before a big race and feel a sense of happiness that I'm involved with such lovely horses. We will just get what we get."

But Tizzard has long dreamed of winning the Gold Cup and Native River looks the one most likely to challenge Henderson's Might Bite.

He had a ligament operation after finishing third last year and that forced him to miss the first half of the campaign.

He won his only race, the three-runner Denman Chase, in confident style though his opposition that day – a horse that didn't stay and another who just needed a run – didn't exactly push him to the line.

"We think we've had the ideal preparation with Native River, with had just one run at Newbury but I was impressed with the manner of how he won that race, despite the issues with the horses we up against," adds Tizzard.

"We won't mind if it came up heavy, we used to think he had a preference for better ground but we will take what comes."

Tizzard also has other chances with dual grade winning hurdler Finian's Oscar entered in the JLT Novices' Chase.

After an impressive start to his career over fences, the horse struggled in his last appearance at Cheltenham but has since undergone a breathing operation.

"He's fit and gleaming and wouldn't break sweat," added Tizzard. "We're in better form and he could be a better horse now for all sorts of reasons."

Sportsbeat 2018