Joe Tizzard: “I do think he’s one of my nicest horses”

Trainer and Coral ambassador Joe Tizzard previews his three runners at Newbury on Friday

Newbury 12.10 – Call The Dawn

This is a big weekend for us, as we’re taking several nice horses to Newbury over the two days of the Coral Gold Cup meeting, so I’m hopeful of some big performances.

We start with Call The Dawn in the opening contest. He ran a lovely race on debut last month, finishing second to the odds-on favourite, Gin Coco, who has since finished runner-up in the Greatwood Hurdle, and the fourth horse that day [Ivaldi], finished second to one of ours [Scarface] at Ascot at the weekend, so it was a lovely performance from a four-year-old.

It was good ground at Newton Abbot, so I don’t see him having any issues with decent ground here. I’m expecting him to improve plenty from that first run, and even though he’s up against some expensive point-to-point purchases here, I’d be hopeful of him running a huge race.

Newbury 1.20 – Off To A Flyer

We bought Off To A Flyer at last December’s Cheltenham Sale, and really liked him, so it was disappointing when he only finished fifth in a Bumper at Taunton in the spring, as he’d been working well going into that.

However, looking back, he just didn’t get home in softish ground that day. He’s summered really well, he’s a big, strong horse, and I do think he’s one of my nicest novices.

I’m sure he’ll improve for the run, but he won an Irish point-to-point so it’s no surprise that he’s schooled well over hurdles at home. His future is definitely over fences, but I love how he’s strengthened up over the summer, and I’m very excited about him for this season. I’d be disappointed if he didn’t run a nice race here.