Lostintranslation was pulled up in his last two attempts at the King George; he arguably comes into this year's renewal in better form than ever after bagging the 1965 Chase at Ascot last time out for in-form Tizzard team
Wednesday 15 December 2021 12:32, UK
Joe Tizzard is praying for a sound surface at Kempton on Boxing Day to give Lostintranslation the best possible chance of making it third time lucky in the Ladbrokes King George VI Chase.
The nine-year-old has been pulled up in each of the last two renewals of the festive feature - failing to fire when well fancied in 2020 and suffering a broken blood vessel 12 months ago.
Lostintranslation had been largely disappointing since finishing a close-up third behind Al Boum Photo in last year's Cheltenham Gold Cup.
But as has been the case with several Tizzard-trained horses this season, the Flemensfirth gelding bounced back from his spell in the doldrums with a comeback victory at Ascot last month - teeing him up for another tilt at King George glory.
Joe Tizzard, assistant to his father Colin Tizzard, said: "The boys are keen to have another crack at the Gold Cup as he is good in the spring. Possibly after that we could take him to Punchestown.
"Before we start thinking of the Gold Cup though, we need to concentrate on the steps getting there, starting with the King George, ground permitting.
"He has come out of Ascot well and is in great form. You have to run horses when they are right and I would have thought at the moment we are on route to going to Kempton, but the weather forecasts are never accurate until the week before.
"Much will depend on what happens with the ground there over the next 10 days. He wouldn't run on heavy ground, as simple as that. We shall do the five day declarations and decide from there.
"I see no reason why the track shouldn't suit him. The last two times he raced there he obviously wasn't right.
"He will only be running if we think he has got a chance of running his race. If he is good enough on the day, he will run a big race."
Tizzard insists he never lost faith in Lostintranslation, adding: "He had something underlying with him last season that we couldn't pinpoint. He bled in a couple of races and was wrong.
"We were confident turning him out to grass would help him. We have also given him a hobday (wind operation) through the summer, so we did everything we could.
"It was lovely to have him back at the top of his game at Ascot. Although he was receiving weight from Master Tommytucker, it was a lovely stepping-stone for him.
"I never lost faith in him to be honest and neither did the owners (Paul Taylor and Richard O'Dwyer)."
