Starting as 5/4 favourite, he only needed a few strides to take the lead, and despite the deep and holding ground, once he went clear between the final two flights it was always going to be a case of the winning margin. While the six-lengths margin of victory wasn’t as emphatic as the seven-lengths victory when the horse last won on the course in December, it was commanding enough for the horse’s odds to tumble for the Cheltenham Festival.
Pre-race the horse was priced at 33-1 for the Supreme Novice Hurdle at the festival in March; these odds have been slashed to 12/1 due to the dynamic nature of the win here at Sandown. For trainer Colin Tizzard, the win kept up his astonishing record in the race; this was the third time in four years that the 61-year-old has trained winners in the race. This victory sees Tizzard’s total earnings break the £8m mark over the last five seasons over the jumps.
The victory here has caused a welcome dilemma for Tizzard who is still undecided on which distance the horse will run at Cheltenham with the Dorset based trainer saying;
We won’t decide on 4th January but if it was a very soft Cheltenham he’d probably be better off in the Supreme -, and if it was a normal good ground Cheltenham, the two and a half would be ideal.– Colin Tizzard, Fiddlerontheroof trainer
The Tizzard family are in the envious situation of currently training three top-notch novices in their stables. Elixir De Nutz, the winner of the Grade One Tolworth Hurdle last year is also trained by the family and will be bidding to retain his title. Last year, Elixir De Nutz showed grit to battle his way to a half-length victory despite a strong challenge from eventual runner-up Grand Sancy.
Tolworth Hurdle Full Results
1 Fiddlerontheroof (Colin Tizzard Robbie Power) 5/4F 2 Jeremys Flame (Gavin Cromwell Jonathan Moore) 6/1 3 Son Of Camas (Nicky Henderson Nico de Boinville) 4/1 4 Calva D’Auge (Paul Nicholls Harry Cobden) 20/1 5 Hang In There Emma (Lavelle Aidan Coleman) 4/1 6 Logan Rocks (Amy Murphy Jack Quinlan) 66/1 7 Silver Hallmark (Fergal O’Brien Adam Wedge) 9/1
