Thistle be a King of them all
THISTLECRACK floored his rivals in spectacular style when taking the 32Red King George VI Chase at Kempton yesterday. Having only his fourth outing over fences, Thistlecrack jumped with the agility and precision of a gazelle in the hands of Tom Scudamore. After duelling for the lead, he took the race by the scruff of the neck with a circuit to go and showed his superiority by drawing clear of his stable companion Cue Card with Silviniaco Conti back in third and Tea For Two fourth. “It was frightening to watch,” said winning trainer Colin Tizzard. “He’s a brilliant horse. Never touched a twig. “He’s got everything you want in a racehorse. Cue Card was brilliant as well. He could have cried enough at the last fence, but he stuck his head out, so it’s brilliant.” Tizzard played his cards close to his chest leading up to the race regarding Thistlecrack’s participation showed his hand after victory.
“As soon as I made the entry we knew which way we were going to go, although we sort of pretended we didn’t,” he said.
“He’s at the peak of his powers and he’s just proved we all got it right.”
Thistlecrack, now evens for the Cheltenham Gold Cup with Hills, is expected to run in the Cotswold Chase at Cheltenham on January 28 before chasing’s blue riband where he renews rivalry with Cue Card.
Fighting back the tears, Scudamore said: “He’s a phenomenal racehorse. Between myself, my father (Peter) and grandfather (Michael) we’ve had about 33,000 winners and he’s the best one of the lot.”
Paul Nicholls, the most successful trainer in the King George with nine winners, believes Thistlecrack is up with the best of his past winners.
“Thistlecrack’s performance was right up there with Kauto Star,” Nicholls said. but