Horse Racing: No third Cheltenham Gold Cup tilt for Colin Tizzard’s Cue Card

There will be no more attempts on the Cheltenham Gold Cup for Cue Card, who will now be aimed at the Ryanair Chase at next month’s Festival. The veteran’s owner and trainer, Jean Bishop and Colin Tizzard respectively, finally reached an agreement on the matter during racing here on Saturday and decided against a third tilt at the Gold Cup, where he has taken crashing falls for the past two years.

“It’s what’s best for the horse,” said Bishop, about an hour after watching Kings Walk become the first winner in her colours this season. She and Tizzard had spent that time chewing over the right target for Cue Card in a racecourse bar and it appears that while Bishop was interested in another charge at jump racing’s most prestigious prize the trainer has talked her around to his way of thinking.

Tizzard said: “We weighed it up and he was very good last week over the same distance as the Ryanair. Basically, we thought he has a better chance of winning a Ryanair than a Gold Cup.”

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One of the most popular horses in training after a long and highly successful career, Cue Card won his first Festival race eight years ago, in the Champion Bumper. He hacked up in the 2013 Ryanair but has shocked his followers with falls at the third-last in the Gold Cup for the last two years.

Bookmakers reacted by slashing Cue Card’s odds for the Ryanair, where he will face Un De Sceaux, Fox Norton and perhaps Waiting Patiently, who beat him at Ascot last week. Having been available at 25-1 on Saturday morning, he was a general 10-1 shot within an hour of the news breaking.

Cue Card’s fans were divided in their response on social media, though the majority expressed relief that he would not be risked in a highly competitive Gold Cup for what may very well be his last season before retirement. Some, however, agreed with the sentiment expressed by Bishop this week, that the horse had “unfinished business” with the Gold Cup.

Buveur D’Air was described as being in very good form by a happy Barry Geraghty after working for two miles round Kempton after racing. The reigning champion hurdler finished upsides with Might Bite, the Gold Cup favourite, and their lead horse, Theinval.

“I’ve got three happy jockeys plus three happy horses, so that gives you one happy trainer,” said Nicky Henderson, grateful for the opportunity of getting some exercise in raceday conditions into his most high-profile Festival contenders.

“They were very fresh. Barry said he was full of horse at the end of it. We’ll see how long they blow for. That was perfect.”

Henderson reports his gallops in full working order despite recent frosts but would much prefer not to have the disruption of dealing with snow at any point over the next fortnight.