Colin Tizzard has Flat ambitions after Padleyourowncanoe gives yard first win

Colin Tizzard said he is ready to expand his Flat operation after Padleyourowncanoe broke new ground when winning at Lingfield on Tuesday.

Padleyourowncanoe, who has a chase and hurdle rating of 140, won the 2m handicap by three-quarters of a length under Hollie Doyle, who was having her first ride for Tizzard.

The landmark win could be the start of something much bigger for Tizzard, who recently refurbished his Flat equipment in order to qualify for a dual-purpose licence.

Tizzard said: “It has always appealed to us to have horses who can go on the Flat in the summer and then over jumps in the winter, we’ve always fancied that idea but it has never really happened. We’re laughing about it now but it could get a lot more serious over the next year or two, it’s all winners and it’s all good fun.

“We hope to turn more out. When I renewed my dual-purpose licence in January this year we had to get the starter stalls back out and we repainted them and revamped them to qualify for the licence. If we get a few owners keen enough then we will run some more, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t.”

Padleyourowncanoe, who won a beginners' chase at Exeter in October, is entered at Wolverhampton on Friday as Tizzard waits for better ground.

Colin Tizzard: hoping to expand operationCredit: Edward Whitaker

“We don’t think he’s big enough to handle real English winter heavy ground so it was just a warm up for him really," he said.

“He’s declared on Friday and he'll run unless there’s something amiss. We'll get him home and ride him out on Thursday to see if he is fit and well, then we’ll make a decision, but I’m sure he'll run.”

Chris Weare, one of the gelding's three co-owners, bought Padleyourowncanoe as a yearling and was delighted with another victory, having named the horse in anticipation of the worst-case scenario.

“That was brilliant, we thoroughly enjoyed it – we just brought him here for a run because we’re waiting for the ground to get better,” he told Sky Sports Racing.

“We bought him as a baby and we named him Padleyourowncanoe. The agent said if he was no good he could paddle his own canoe back home. He’s done it all, he’s won on the Flat, over hurdles and over fences.”

Get exclusive insight from the track and live tipping with Raceday Live - our up-to-the-minute service on racingpost.com and the Racing Post mobile app