Lostintranslation poised to become Tizzard's next Cue Card after Mildmay success

Everything comes to he who waits – although not everything is quite as exciting as the thrillingly promising young chaser Lostintranslation.

Colin Tizzard has had to sit and suffer through the early weeks of spring, his juggernaut of jumping talent grinding to a temporary halt.

The man who had won the Ladbrokes Trophy and Coral Welsh Grand National in the first half of the season drew a blank at the Cheltenham Festival, where Lostintranslation himself was outspeeded by Defi Du Seuil in the 2m4f JLT Novices' Chase.

But Tizzard did not lose faith. Rather, he stepped the seven-year-old gelding up in trip at Aintree, made a rare tactical intervention to suggest he should be ridden with more restraint, and was rewarded with a stunning display in the Betway Mildmay Novices' Chase.

Lostintranslation cruised to the front under Robbie Power between the last two fences and came home an easy six-length winner from the RSA Chase winner Topofthegame, who pipped Top Ville Ben for second close home.

That earned the winner single-figure quotes for next season's King George VI Chase and Cheltenham Gold Cup, and highly significant words of praise from his trainer.

"He's a dream horse," Tizzard said. "I've always felt with the Cue Cards, the Native Rivers and the Thistlecracks, where am I ever going to find another one? I think we've seen it today again.

"He was like poetry He just sat there in third and crept up and made it look so easy."

Asked if he could be a Gold Cup horse, the trainer said: "Obviously, we'll be going down that route; he's got everything in front of him."

Reflecting on the yard's quiet spell, Tizzard said: "This game has never been easy. We've had some wonderful times in the last few years with these good horses and if we can't have a bad month there's something wrong somewhere along the line. There are always issues and it makes you stronger, I'm sure."

Tizzard does not normally get involved in riding tactics but made an exception on this occasion.

"Because he's such a good jumper he's got himself to the front a few times and got picked off by pacier horses," he said. "I talked to Robbie and he said what I was thinking."

Power said: "There was pace in the race and there was no need to make the running. It was important for the horse that he learned to settle in a little bit.

Robbie Power: 'I picked him up and next thing, boom! – you're there already'Credit: Alan Crowhurst

"The most impressive part of the whole thing was when he popped the second-last. I picked him up and next thing, boom! – you're there already. He's a very exciting horse and potentially could be anything."

Part-owner Paul Barber suggested Topofthegame may not have been at his best and said: "He was never travelling quite as well as he might have been.

"There are a few horses here this week who look as though they had a hard race at Cheltenham, and that may be it."

One firm went just 8-1 about Lostintranslation for the Cheltenham Gold Cup, although 16-1 was available (from 25), while Topofthegame was eased to as big as 12-1 (from 8).

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