Joe Tizzard on his day one Cheltenham chances

I’m so excited now and just can’t wait to get there and get on with it

I won’t be able to sleep tonight, in fact I haven’t been able to for the last week or so. I’m really excited now. We’ve had a busy couple of weeks, and the issues with Thistlecrack and Finian’s Oscar, but I’m so excited now and just can’t wait to get there and get on with it. I love Cheltenham and I love the Festival, we all do, so we’re just glad it’s here now.

In the morning we’ll all be in the yard at 6am, my sister Kim will be in a bit earlier, and we’ll ride a couple out. We’ll make sure all the Cheltenham horses are out first lot, then get the declarations done, before we head off to Cheltenham just before 9am. We’ll be there by 11am. I just can’t wait.

If Pingshou finishes in the first half a dozen we’ll be delighted

We run Pingshou in the Supreme. There are only fourteen runners so it has cut up a bit, but it’s still ultra-competitive. If Pingshou finishes in the first half a dozen we’ll be delighted with him. He’s a nice horse and he’s got course form so I think he’ll run a good race. He’ll bounce out nice and handy and I’m sure he’ll still be there coming down the hill. The pressure for us doesn’t really build until later in the week, and this is a nice way to start, and it would obviously be nice if he could go and finish in the first four. Stranger things have happened.

We run Theatre Guide and Viconte Du Noyer and both horses are in cracking form

The Ultima Handicap is incredibly competitive. It’s practically 10/1 the field and you’ll need an awful lot of luck in running. We run Theatre Guide and Viconte Du Noyer and both horses are in cracking form. They’ve both won around Cheltenham this season. Theatre Guide showed that he is capable of being competitive off this kind of mark when third at Kempton on his last run. Viconte Du Noyer wasn’t right after his last run and he’s really started to shine at home. At a big price I think he’s got a decent each way chance.