Tizzard isn't a fool and knows very well the world we live in, he could easily state that despite the scan next week he still has no chance of running if that was the case. There clearly is an inkling/thought/hope in their minds that he may make it.

Or they could supplement for the Stayers.

Tizzard is no amateur...he's a seasoned trainer, and as such would not have issued a definitive statement the horse had developed a tear and would miss the rest of the season, certainly Cheltenham; he'd not have made that statement without the consent and agreement of his vet whose professional credibility is on the line if turning out to be untrue.

Instead I'd ask why the tear had materialised on Thistlecrack's 1st season over fences but not his previous discipline? Could it have happened because of the fast-tracking to the King George and Cotswold against seasoned campaigners at his age? How much more taxing and punishment on the horse? For instance, we lost Don Cossack, Coneygree, No More Heroes, etc, in a short period of time.

I hope the 2nd scan is to ascertain for sure the severity of the tear/injury, and return to racing. However, I do not think there is any chance of him reverting to hurdles (Stayers) either despite holding a 48/1 double bet with Cue Card for the GC.

At the end of the day the welfare of Thistlecrack must be of paramount importance, nothing else should precede that.

Nothing to see here.
All the 2nd scan will find is the 'extent' of the injury. Tizzard still said this at the end of the interview.

Tizzard, who still has the first two in the Gold Cup market, Cue Card and Native River, said: “We had a pretty rough old week when he got injured but after 36 hours of feeling gutted I had to move on. We found the injury early, that’s the main thing.”


Will the horse be ok in 6 weeks time? doubtful but there must be a chance.

What baffles me the most is there are people thinking the horse has a chance of running in the Gold Cup at Cheltenham next month; I think an emphatic zero chance unless Tizzard has misinformed the public, and his vet misdiagnosed the injury.

Impossible 123 You are not the full Banana ! You go from subject to subject on this forum 24 hrs a hour talking out of your pocket .Get 90% of things wrong .You have hated Thistlecrack since day 1 ,.
Are you employed by PP or just SAD !

Chapman spoke to Tizzard just before he came on air - he's on now. Tizzard: "Thistlecrack has zero chance of running in the Gold Cup" as far as he is concerned....

Colin Tizzard has reiterated that Thistlecrack will not run in the Timico Cheltenham Gold Cup.

The King George VI Chase winner was ruled out of the Cheltenham Festival last week with a torn tendon, but mention at the weekend of a second scan set for this week led to some speculation and his price collapsing on the betting exchanges on Sunday night.

However, Tizzard never mooted the possibility of him running in the blue riband, with a second scan on a tendon injury being common practice among trainers to assess the full extent of the damage once an injured leg has had chance to settle down.

In a statement issued to Press Association Sport on Tuesday afternoon, Tizzard said: "Thistlecrack's second scan came back exactly the same as the first, as we expected it would.

"As communicated previously Thistlecrack will not run again this season and all being well we'd expect him to be back at Christmas."

scratched from the Gold Cup now