Lord bids to reign supreme over rivals for Tizzard and Powell in Friday’s Betway Haldon Gold Cup

By Graham Clark

Brendan Powell hopes he can continue repaying the faith the Tizzard family have shown in him by teaming up with them to good effect for the second season running in the Betway Haldon Gold Cup at Exeter on Friday (November 4th) with admirable grey War Lord.

After launching his career as a conditional jockey with the now-retired Colin Tizzard back as a teenager the 27 year old has come full circle to hold the position he enjoys as first choice jockey to his son Joe Tizzard, who is now at the helm of Venn Farm Stables.

Twelve months on from providing Tizzard senior with his second, and final, victory in the Grade Two contest on Eldorado Allen, Powell is keen to repeat the feat aboard stablemate War Lord and secure his son his biggest winner to date as a trainer. War Lord is the 2-1 Favourite with race sponsor Betway.

Powell said: “This is where I started as a conditional and I have had a lot of success with the Tizzard family over the years.

“I got the opportunity to ride most of the horses around the back end of last summer. It was an opportunity I was looking forward to and couldn’t even dream of turning down.

“We had a brilliant season last season with some high-profile winners. They are a really good team to be part of and give me a lot of confidence day in and day out.

“To have that confidence and support behind you makes a massive difference as a jockey.

“Even when Joe was still riding he was still involved in the training side so it wasn’t a big shock to the system for Joe when he did have to take over.

“Colin is still an integral part of the team and he still comes out on Wednesdays to watch us schooling and to make sure we are not doing anything we shouldn’t be!

“Joe isn’t doing a bad job so far but it would be good to give him a nice winner like this in his own name.”

Showing an immediate liking to fences after winning his first two starts over them last season War Lord went on to run a number of respectable races in defeat in four subsequent outings.

These included filling the runner’s up spot at Grade One level in both the Close Brothers Henry VIII Novices’ Chase at Sandown Park and on his final start in the SSS Super Alloys Manifesto Novices’ Chase at Aintree in April.

Powell said: “He didn’t do anything wrong last season and he progressed all the way through

“He won a graduation chase up at Carlisle and before that a four runner race at Newton Abbot but the form of that race worked out really well which we didn’t know at the time.

“Even when he was getting beat as he was still running good races which included being placed in two Grade Ones and finishing fourth in the Arkle.

“With another summer on his back he has been doing everything we want him to be doing at home and it is a nice starting point for him.”

One thing Powell, who rode a personal best tally of 65 winners last season, believes was key to War Lord’s progression over fences was the decision to campaign over hurdles for an extra year, which in his view has made a “man” of him.

He said: “Quite possibly running in those big handicap hurdles has helped him take that next step up over fences.

“If you get horses that are running around in four or five runner novice hurdles that are then getting chucked in bigger fields some of them don’t handle that well.

“He was running in big handicaps around Haydock and places like that and I think that can make a man of a horse.”

With much of War Lord’s best form achieved on softer ground Powell is keeping his fingers crossed that the rain arrives at the Devon track before Friday’s race.

He said: “Like a lot of people I would love a bit more rain to come before Exeter as he is a horse that is really proven on soft ground. But we just have to play the cards we are dealt at the end of the day.

“He is a good traveller and he is very genuine. He jumped well last season so hopefully he can continue to do so but he is just an all-round nice horse.”

While War Lord will start out over an extended two miles Powell expects him to be racing over further as the season progresses, however he believes he has the versatility to drop back in distance if the conditions are suitable.

He said: “We ran him over two and a half at Aintree over fences for the first time but he was always a horse was a proper soft ground two miler. Now he is on better ground he is open to stay further which I think he will.

“Whether or not he has got the pace to beat the likes of Edwardstone I’m not sure but he will be beating good horses stepped up in trip.

“I think I would see him going the two and a half mile route this season but he is not a slow horse on soft ground.

“If we get a lot of rain and wet winter he handles that ground really well and he has got a little bit of pace.

“When you have got a horse that you don’t have to pigeon hole to one trip or one type of ground it opens up a lot of doors.”

Betway Haldon Gold Cup, latest Betway odds:

2-1 War Lord

9-4 Third Time Lucki

3-1 Greaneteen

9-2 Red Rookie

5-1 Dolos, Il Ridoto

8-1 Numitor

16-1 Captain Tom Cat