With three seasons already under his belt Joe Tizzard has made a solid start to life as a trainer, but one look at his exciting young team for the campaign ahead suggests the best is yet to come.
Last season saw Tizzard saddle a personal best total of 69 winners along with eclipsing his previous best prize money haul after weighing in with £1,125,163, despite not having an out-and-out Grade One performer to fly the flag.
Victories for JPR One in the Grade Two BetMGM Haldon Gold Cup down at Exeter and for The Changing Man at the same level in the Ebony Horse Club Reynoldstown Novices’ Chase were particular highlights for the now retired rider.
While some familiar faces remain at his Milborne Port base, youth is very much to the fore with Tizzard, who took over at Spurles Stables from his dad Colin at the start of the 2022/23 campaign, possessing a good number of novice hurdlers and novice chasers that have yet to reach their full potential.
And having made a promising start to the new season it is easy to see why there is plenty of positivity to be found in this quiet corner of the Dorset countryside for the months ahead.
Tizzard said: “I was really pleased with the consistency of the horses last season. We never really had a quiet spell which was good and the horses kept rolling in all the time.
“Hitting one million pounds in prize money is always the target and we got there with plenty of room to spare.
“We had a couple of seconds at the Cheltenham Festival as well, and as much as I don’t like seconds, they were knocking on the door, and we had some nice days out.
“Winning the Reynoldstown with The Changing Man was good fun and winning the Haldon Gold Cup with JPR One was a nice big winner at the start of the season and those are the two standout moments.
“Copperhead was great last season as well, winning the veterans’ chase final. The season he had was unbelievable.
“We had a lot of novice hurdle winners last season which will naturally now develop into novice chasers and we managed to get stuck in at the sales throughout the winter and bought seven or eight point-to-pointers.
“It is a young team still, and we don’t have stacks of Saturday handicappers, but we have some lovely young horses to look forward to, and we knew that would be the case. They are the future and hopefully one or two of them will improve again.”
ALEXEI
“It was a lovely run he put in at Chepstow in the Welsh Champion Hurdle. He was brilliant in the early part of last season then he just got a bit light on me.
“It was a great performance he put in at Ascot. The handicapper didn’t move him for his Chepstow run and I thought he had sharpened up a bit.
“He went about it very well at Ascot and he quickened away nicely. He seems to have come out of it well and we will probably have a look at the Greatwood with him.
“A fast run two miles around Cheltenham would be lovely for him and it is still decent ground out there at the moment.
“We can have a rattle with him now and then back off when the ground goes before going again later on. It is nice to have a competitive two mile handicap hurdler.”
AMBION VIEW
“He won nicely first time out at Exeter last season, and the form of that win looked good. He then fell over when he was odds-on at Wincanton, and we had a little setback.
“He didn’t really finish the season off afterwards, but he will be fine this season.
“He ran well down at Newton Abbot the other day and he didn’t lose a lot in defeat.
"I’ve just got to decide whether I go chasing now or stick with him over hurdles for a little bit longer.”
BOB BISHOP
“He is named after Cue Card’s owner, and the horse is distantly related to Cue Card as well.
"He ran well the first time out and improved the next time to win at Taunton. It was only a moderate bumper, but he has improved at home.
“He has done loads of schooling. He has not come from the point-to-point background so he has been a bit more of a baby over hurdles, but he is getting better all the time.
“We would probably start him over two miles when he goes over hurdles as he travels well and goes well up the gallops.”
BOBBI WITH AN I
“She will win her races and I’m planning on taking her to Exeter on Friday where there is a nice 0-115 mares hurdle for her there.
"If she then gets placed twice in the qualifiers she could then end up going for that Boudicea final at Fakenham in the second half of January.”
BOURBALI
“He has come on for his first run back at Kempton Park the other day. I’ve got him entered in the two and a half mile handicap chase at Wincanton on Saturday.
“He is fully exposed and the handicapper knows where he is, but he is so consistent he doesn’t really drop in the weights.
“Even though he has nothing to hide I’m sure he will win this season at some point.”
CLAIM THE THRONE
“He finished fifth on his first bumper at Newbury and then wasn’t beaten far into sixth on his second start at Warwick.
“He wasn’t seen out until February when he beat Walk Tall down at Exeter. He was a bit like Kripticjim in that we let him progress and he just got better and better. He was quite a light framed horse last season, but he has grown no end.
“He was a bit disappointing pulling up at Carlisle on Sunday so we are just going back to the drawing board with him. We will be going low key with him next time. He might be one that needs to get a mark.”
COPPERHEAD
“He is at a totally different end of the scale this time. Last season he had a featherweight on him, and he just enjoyed it, and improved. The veterans series might be hotter this season.
“He had a bout of colic at the end of the season just before he got turned away. He had to have a big operation and we just wanted him to survive, but he has come through it well, however we haven’t rushed him.
“He was on a real roll last season, and he seems in lovely form with himself at the moment. We will run him in those races again and whatever he does is lovely.
“If he isn’t enjoying life then he will be retired, but as he had such an amazing season last season we will keep going. The veterans final at Sandown Park would be the aim for him.”
DIAMOND RI
“It was frustrating not having him around last season, but that is life. He got his little injury and had to miss the season.
“I will probably start him off in a Pertemps qualifier just because he hasn’t got many miles on the clock.
"I will go chasing with him, but if I run him in a Pertemps qualifier it gives us options. He won’t run until the end of November, but he is back in and looks a million dollars.
“He is not that old and he is owned by the same people that have Western Knight, and they are also involved in First Confession, so they don’t need to have three novice chasers over three miles this season.”
ELDORADO ALLEN
“He is still around with us and he will go into those veteran races again. We might just run him in the Badger Beers Chase at Wincanton first though if the ground is okay for him.
“He is getting towards the back end of his career now, but he still shows plenty of enthusiasm and it would be lovely for him to win one this season.”
ETNA BIANCO
“He finished third in his only bumper last season, but the form has worked out really well as the second won a good sales bumper at Newbury.
“He ran really well at Kempton Park, but then we just left him as he had already won his point-to-point before we got him.
“I’ve let him fill up as he has grown no end. I would be disappointed if he doesn’t end up being one of my better novice hurdlers.
“It was a lovely first run over hurdles at Cheltenham last month and he stayed on well through the line. I was delighted with him. That is how I wanted him to run.
“There is quite a valuable novice hurdle at Ascot in a couple of weeks time that we could now look at with him to try and get his head in front.”
FAIRY PARK
“She is a beautiful point-to-point filly that I got for Garth and Anne Broom (of Brocade Racing). She bolted up in her point-to-point at Dromahane for Colin Bowe.
“She is a big upstanding mare with a huge stride and we like what we have seen of her so far. She will probably stay in bumpers, but I would be disappointed if she doesn’t get some black type.
“She will probably have three bumper runs then go novice hurdling next season as a five-year-old.”
FIRST CONFESSION
“He is a lovely horse and I’ve been looking forward to sending him over fences. He was bought to be a three mile novice chaser and he schools really well.
“In the Challow Hurdle he never went a yard and in the Albert Bartlett he wasn’t quite good enough, but he had a lovely season.
“He won around Ascot a couple of times and potentially he is quite a nice horse. It doesn’t do them any harm to have a go in those types of races as long as you are open minded about it, and everybody was.
“He is a stronger horse this season and he will be a much stronger novice chaser.
“I think the race at Carlisle on Sunday was quite a competitive one. He improved massively for his first run last season and I imagine he will again.
“He jumped super and it was a solid run. It wasn’t that soft on the chase course at Carlisle and getting him back on some softer ground will do the job for him.
“We could stay at two and a half miles with him, but equally he stayed on well through the line at Carlisle so we could move back up to three miles.”
GYENYAME
“He is better than what he showed at the end of last season as we found a problem with his back, which we have now treated. Physically he is much better.
“He blew the cobwebs away around Newton Abbot and he will go to Exeter on Friday for the three mile handicap race down there.
“He has come on a bundle for his last race and this looks a nice option for him. He will run well on Friday.
“He is rated one hundred and fifteen over fences, but he was rated higher than that over hurdles. I think he should be competitive off that mark.”
HADRIANUS
“He never ran for us last season, but he was a useful horse on the Flat for Charlie Johnston. At one point on the Flat he was rated one hundred and four and he finished third in a Group Three at Chester and Listed race at Goodwood.
“I’m looking forward to go hurdling with him, but he has got to make it now."
HARTINGTON
“I thought his final run last season at Windsor was good. He was just weak last season and he just had a little setback which was enough that we couldn’t run him, so we protected his mark a little bit.
“It was a good little race that he won up at Carlisle on Sunday, but we thought his Windsor run had worked out really well and we thought he had improved over the summer.
“We went up there for that pot and it came off. It was a lovely first run and it looks like we could step him up to three miles now. We might look at a Pertemps qualifier with him going forward.”
JENNY FRANCE
“She is another Walk In The Park filly that we picked up.
“She was a good winner of a point-to-point at Lingstown and we bought her at the Cheltenham Festival sale.
“We have not made a decision whether she will stay in bumpers or go over hurdles this season. She is quite sharp so we might go hurdling with her.”
JPR ONE
“Winning the Haldon Gold Cup was a great day and the plan is to go back to Exeter to defend his title on Friday. He goes well in the autumn and he is in good nick at the moment
“He ran well in the Tingle Creek last season and he was running well at Cheltenham in the Grand Annual before making a mistake at two out and he might have been third.
“He pulled muscles at Cheltenham and Plumpton was a bit of an afterthought. If nothing else they have dropped him back three pounds for that.
“It does feel like a long season if you win a big one early on, but if you win a one hundred thousand pound race every year then that is fine.
“I won’t go to the Tingle Creek with him this year. He might go to the Desert Orchid Chase around Christmas time or we might step him to two and a half miles for the Peterborough Chase.
“He has won over that trip over hurdles.
KASINO DES MOTTES
“He won his second point-to-point at Lingstown quite well. We picked him up at the Cheltenham Festival sale and since then he has shown us all the right signs at home which is encouraging.
“He ran a nice race at Cheltenham, but as you saw that day he is a real galloper. He will make a lovely chaser next season.
"I wasn't disappointed with him, and like the others that ran at Cheltenham, he will improve no end. We will just find a nice normal race for him next time.”
KOOL KID
“He is nearly ready to run. He ran in three points-to-point last autumn then he came out and won his bumper for us at Hereford.
"We then turned him and he will go novice hurdling this season. We were chuffed to bits he won his bumper and everything he has done at home since the day we got him has been lovely.
"He is a totally different type to some of the novice hurdlers we have as he is a compact, smaller horse. You would be disappointed if he can’t win novice hurdles this season.”
KRIPTICJIM
“We were really patient with him last season and he will now go novice hurdling. He got better with each run last season and won a nice pot at the end.
“He has come back in looking much stronger and has schooled lovely.
“It wasn’t on his owners radar to take him up to Aintree last season and it was a decent race at Exeter he won. I could have run him again, but there wasn’t a lot to gain in an Aintree bumper.
“I’m looking forward to getting him going at Chepstow on Wednesday.”
LISBANE PARK
“He is a lovely horse that I bought up at Aintree for John Romans. He is by Walk In The Park and he was second in his sole point-to-point. He is a beautiful horse. "He was held up early on that day and he stayed on well to finish second. He will go novice hurdling as soon as the ground is right.”
LORD OF THUNDER
“There is a race at the Coral Gold Cup meeting, the Sir Peter O’Sullevan Memorial Handicap Chase, over two miles and six furlongs which I think ticks all his boxes. He likes a bit of cut in the ground so we are having to be a bit patient at the moment, but that is the target.
“It wouldn’t be the end of the world if he had a racecourse gallop then went to Newbury. That is kind of the plan at the moment.
“I think we will end up stepping him back up to three miles again. He is more than competitive off his mark, but I think there is a nice race in him and the one at Newbury stands out for me.”
LUNA MARQUESA
“She is a nice Kapgarde filly that has moved well in training. She had a couple of away days last season and she has continued to fill her frame over the summer.
“We are excited to get her out on the track in the autumn and she will be one to start off in a bumper.”
NOT SO WOOLLY
“He put up a cracking run in the EBF Final on his final start last season and I’m surprised that he is still a maiden. He is now going to go novice chasing.
“I want to find a novice handicap chase with him as I think he is a really well handicapped horse. Physically he is a lot stronger this season.
“It will only be a matter of time before he gets his head in front. He was bought to be a chaser. We have been really patient with him and now is the time to crack on. He jumps a fence really well and he is an exciting young horse. I think he is better than his current mark of one hundred and eighteen.”
SAILING BY
“He is a good looking four-year-old that has recently joined us from Will Biddick, who had him last season.
“He shows a lovely attitude and we are looking forward to finding out more about him. He will start off in the bumper at Chepstow on Wednesday.”
SCARFACE
“He always turns up and runs his race every time. We might just step him up in trip marginally as he won over two miles five furlongs last time at Newton Abbot.
“The handicapper never crucifies him, and he always wins his races and turns up.
“He does hold an entry in the Grand Sefton at Aintree as that could be something for him, but we have also put him in the Badger Beers Handicap Chase as well.”
SIAM PARK
“He ended up winning three races then he was given a race after he finished second at Taunton before the winner was disqualified.
"He is a bit headstrong and fences sorted him out last season. I think he can still be competitive off a mark of one hundred and ten.”
“He ran okay on his comeback at Newton Abbot. He didn’t do a lot wrong, he just got tired from the back of the second last.
“There is a 0-110 for him at Taunton next week. The track suits him well and he can slot into a race like that as that is about where he is.”
TENNESSEE TANGO
“He is a gorgeous big horse that has been schooling well and he will be ready to start as soon as the ground is right.
“He won his bumper at Wincanton, then he ran really well under a penalty, which is always hard to do at the end of the season, having run in the Listed bumper at Ascot in between.
“He didn’t disgrace himself at Ascot as he was the last one off the bridle when he turned into the straight. He is a big horse as he stands 17”2”.
“We hadn’t done anything out of the ordinary before he won at Wincanton. If the bumper horses then win on merit. It is not like they have been taken away and gunned to do it.
“He is a lovely horse Affinisea, and while he will ultimately be a chaser, he will be winning his novice hurdles this season and he will make his debut over them at Chepstow on Wednesday.”
THE CHANGING MAN
“Every time he got beat last year there was not lots of disappointment as he was always running solid races and we couldn’t really fault him at all.
“He went up all season, but he kept creeping in the weights, however he had a wonderful season and deserved his win in the Reynoldstown.
“We started him off at Ascot on Saturday. It was only in the last one hundred yards that he just got a bit tired, but it was another cracking effort.
“For his first run back it was a beautiful run and he showed that he is still competitive in those big staying handicaps.
“I suspect we will go for the Coral Gold Cup now, however the Rehearsal Chase at Newcastle is on the same day and we will look at both options.
"He is so consistent, and although he has been second a good few times, he is as genuine as they come.
“We will have a look at the Grand National later in the season.”
THE WALK
“He is a Walk In The Park that is related to Native River. He is a nice chap. We got him at the Derby sale and he progressed well last season without getting to the racetrack.
“He is quite a sharp type and he should be competitive when we start him out in a bumper.”
THE WIDDOW MAKER
“He is now eleven, but it was good to see him win one of those middle distance series veterans’ chase races at Exeter last season.
“It was a good run up at Stratford the other day. They have now put a two and a half mile handicap chase on at Cheltenham next week with the cross country race being called off.
“There was a chance he could have gone to Carlisle next Monday, but now they have put that race on a Cheltenham he will probably go there.”
RIGHTSOTOM
“We were quite excited about him when we got him, but he has been a bit hot and cold.
“The wind operation definitely helped him as he ran well at the end of the season. "The first season we had him he had a hairline fracture then last year he was so impressive at Doncaster, but then we had his wind done.
“I think he is a horse that needs plenty of runs. I might get tempted by the Rising Stars at Wincanton on Saturday, but he is also in the two and a half mile handicap chase there.
“He jumped well on his first start over fences at Cheltenham, but he just needed the run and I think he will improve no end for it.
“He is one that could end up in the Jack Richards at the Cheltenham Festival if he takes to chasing well.”
ROCK MY WAY
“He ran a blinder in the National Hunt Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in March, but I only got him half way through last season so it is nice to have him the whole way through this campaign.
“He travelled well at Cheltenham the other week and turned into the straight holding every chance, but he just got tired. He is a big old-fashioned type of horse and it might just take him a few runs to get him fit.
“He could go back to Cheltenham at the November Meeting then we could have a look at the Welsh Grand National with him.
“He stays, and jumps, so the Welsh Grand National is an obvious target. He looks physically very well and the blinkers helped him no end last season. Hopefully there is a bit more to come.”
SUNSET MARQUESA
“Her first run will be in the Richard Barber Memorial Handicap Hurdle. She had a nasty fall at Newbury on her last run.
“She has schooled over a fence, and she will go chasing as she jumps super, but the plan is to start her off at Wincanton first.
“She bolted up twice last season, but I thought we were going to get a bit more from her to be honest with you, and it didn’t happen.
“I think she is a better mare than what she showed last season, and we never really got to find out at Newbury where we thought she would run a big race.”
TRIPLE TRADE
“He becomes a veteran at the turn of the year. He could then get qualified for that two and a half mile veterans series which has its final up at Haydock Park.
“He loves a bit of cut in the ground so I’m going to sit tight with him until the ground comes right for him. He has been a real good boy for us, and he has dropped to a nice mark.
“I think he can be competitive in those types of races.”
U CAN’T BE SERIOUS
“He is another one that will be going novice chasing this season and I think he is alright. He is a big strong boy that was just a weak baby last season.
“He won his maiden at Taunton. He was beaten by Jax Junior at Ascot, and he looks alright as well.
“I’m not sure where I will start with him, but he will be a nice one for those novice handicap chases.”
WALK TALL
“There wasn’t much between him and Claim The Throne when he finished second behind him at Exeter.
“Having made most of the running, and battling to see off the two horses racing up against him up the straight, he was unlucky to be caught late on by Claim The Throne, who finished really fast.
“He is a big strong boy who looks gorgeous and schools really well. He won’t mind the soft ground in the winter and we are excited to see where he ends up over hurdles.”
WESTERN GENERAL
“His mark of one hundred and thirty seven now puts him in those better handicap chases, but I think he was well placed to win the races he did last season.
“I think he will improve massively for his run at Ascot and I will probably step him back up in trip a little bit again.
“He is one of those that I thought was highly enough handicapped off the back of last season.
“Hopefully he will be dropped a few pounds then we can drop him in grade a little bit. I was not too disappointed with the run as I didn’t think he ran too badly.”
WESTERN KNIGHT
“He will go novice chasing and physically he has grown into himself now.
“He was brilliant in the first half of last season, but, as he was a big boy, we just struggled with him a little bit in the second half of the season.
“He looks well and full of himself, and touchwood, he has schooled really nicely at home.
“You would like to think something like the Reynoldstown would be right up his street the other side of Christmas as he has won around Ascot over hurdles.
“He was a good second in a Grade Two at Cheltenham and he was my highest rated novice hurdler rated one hundred and thirty-two, so if a fence brings out a bit more, he should be even better.”
Also in the series
- Willie Mullins: Part One
- Willie Mullins: Part Two
- Alan King
- Paul Nicholls
- Dan Skelton
- Ben Pauling
- Olly Murphy
- Lucinda & Michael Scudamore
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