'He’s my future and he could go right to the top' - JPR One provides emotional Haldon Gold Cup win for Joe Tizzard

Joe Tizzard experienced every bit of emotion and had to fight back the tears after his superstar JPR One powered to victory in the Grade 2 BetMGM Haldon Gold Cup.

A winner in six of his 13 starts, the seven-year-old has made huge progress for the yard and added his second Grade 2 when beating 7-4 favourite Djelo by three-quarters of a length to scoop the £100,000 event.

It is the second successive year Tizzard has won the race, having done so with Elixir De Nutz 12 months ago, but the trainer has full confidence JPR One can provide plenty more memorable days for the yard.

He said: "He’s a really good horse. He’s my future and my bright spark – he could go right to the top. I didn’t feel pressure because my horses have been flying, but he’s just my best horse and I’m a bit emotional.

"I think he can go on to bigger things. He’s looked gorgeous all his life and we’ve minded him and we’ve done everything, but we’ve had a couple of disappointments."

JPR One, who won on his debut at the track in November 2021, had a mixed set of results last season as he followed up his Grade 2 victory in the Lightning Novices' Chase at Chepstow in February with a seventh-place finish behind Gaelic Warrior in the Arkle at Cheltenham.

Joe Tizzard: "I think he can go on to bigger things"Credit: Edward Whitaker

Tizzard said he would take his time with JPR One and this race was the perfect starting point for the season ahead. "He’s had a lovely prep and it was always the plan to come here. It’s a £100,000 handicap and he was topweight.

"I won’t run him lots, we just want to get him right. I maintain that all of last year he never got his ground the second half of the season."

JPR One was cut to 50-1 (from 100) for the Queen Mother Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in March, but before that Tizzard could target the Grade 1 Tingle Creek at Sandown next month.

"He’ll have an entry, but today was all we were thinking about,” he added. “Brendan [Powell] said he’s got one kick, so I told him to ride him like the best horse in the race. He travelled and he jumped, and although he might not find as much as you’d expect him to at the front, nothing was going to beat him."

Winning owner John Romans added: "He jumped very well and he’s a class horse. We’ve had to be patient but he’s turned out well."

Sans Bruit, a first ride in Britain since August for the now France-based Bryony Frost, made the running but could manage only third. Tizzard’s other runner, Scarface, came home fourth ahead of Etalon.

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