Resurgent Tizzards expect 'big season' with Brendan Powell a key player

Joe Tizzard is confident last season's disappointing campaign at Venn Farm can be left in the past, with a wealth of untapped equine potential in the wings and Brendan Powell joining a team of top riders at the yard's disposal.

Powell is to be given "plenty of rides" as he, alongside Harry Cobden and Jonjo O'Neill jnr, will share the majority of jockey duties for the Dorset stable. Robbie Power had teamed up with the yard but returned to Ireland midway through last season.

The Tizzard stable endured its worst season in five years, dipping from 61 winners to 37 last term, but this campaign has started promisingly – notably with Storm Home taking the valuable Summer Cup under Powell at Uttoxeter in July.

Tizzard, who got married over the summer, is to officially take the licence from father Colin at the end of October and is expecting a big campaign.

He said: "We had a quiet season by our standards last term, but our horses look really well and healthy again and we hope to be back where we're used to being. The horses are back, we're set to have a busy winter, and we can't wait.

"We've got some lovely young horses at home, we didn't have too many bumper horses last season so we're looking forward to them. The team is really good, we've got 32 unraced horses, including this year's stores, and they look really nice.

"We're hoping it'll be a big season. We'll have them ready by the middle of October and we've upped their work in the last ten days –I've got plenty ready to run."

Tizzard added of Powell, who has ridden seven of the stable's ten winners this season and had a succession of big wins for the yard between 2013 and 2015: "Brendan rode for us last season and he will come in for plenty of rides – the owners are enjoying what they're seeing with him.

"He, Harry and Jonjo have been in for the last few Wednesdays, while Robbie went back to Ireland in the middle of last season. It's worked out really well in the summer and we'll continue to support those three."

Brendan Powell: rode Native River through the early part of his careerCredit: Edward Whitaker

A resurgent Native River was the yard's flagbearer last term, notably landing the restaged Cotswold Chase at Sandown, and the Betfair Chase is his early-season target.

"He's in really lovely form at the moment," added Tizzard. "He's A1, he's had a couple of schools already and Haydock will be the plan if it's anywhere near soft. He's in cracking form, though, so if it came up soft earlier we could look at something before."

Although the yard went without a winner at the Cheltenham Festival, novice chasers Eldorado Allen, Fiddlerontheroof and The Big Breakaway posted solid placed efforts.

Of their targets, he added: "Fiddlerontheroof and The Big Breakaway can run in intermediate chases, so The Big Breakaway might go to one at Newton Abbot on October 10 and Fiddlerontheroof to Carlisle for the Colin Parker. Then the Ladbrokes Trophy or Paddy Power [Gold Cup] are races for them. Eldorado Allen could start in the Haldon Gold Cup.

"Oscar Elite will go chasing, he schools really well at home. He's a bit forgotten about, but he was placed at Cheltenham and Aintree."

Lostintranslation, third in the 2020 Gold Cup, is out until "at least Christmas" having undergone a hobday wind operation at the end of August.

Tizzard added: "It was a hard season. We've been right through him and we couldn't get to the bottom of anything, but he had a hobday wind operation at the end of August.

"We're being as patient as we can. When he was third in the Gold Cup we thought we had a horse who was capable of taking it, but it didn't work out. He's had everything done and we'll let him tell us when he's ready to run."

Read more:

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