A Plus Tard Can Deny Remarkable Bristol in Haydock’s Betfair Chase
Author:
Roy Brindley
First staged in 2005, the Betfair Chase at Haydock Park may only have a short history but it has been won by some of the greats of modern-day steeplechasing. Dual Gold Cup winner Kauto Star took this race a remarkable four times. Imperial Commander was another to capture both races during his career.
A Plus Tard could emulate some of the greats by completing this season’s Betfair Chase and Gold Cup double. ©GettyImages
Cue Card and Silviniaco Conti may not have won Cheltenham’s showpiece race, but they did add the King George VI Chase to their illustrious CVs after winning The Betfair Chase.
Ireland Seeking a First Irish Win
Understandably this is an eagerly awaited contest. In some quarters it is described as the first leg of the ‘Chase Triple Crown’.
Despite its stature, an Irish trained horse has never won the Betfair Chase. All that could change this weekend.
In a contest that smacks of the old guard replacing the new, A Plus Tard looks the most likely winner by some considerable way. The bookmakers agree. The best sports betting sites are offering a top-priced 6/4 about the young star.
Traditionally This is De Mai’s Big Day
He may not be the punters choice, but amongst genuine jumps racing fans, the most popular winner of Saturday’s big race would doubtlessly be Bristol De Mai.
Since November 2017 this Nigel Twiston-Davies trained horse has raced 14 times and scored on three occasions. Remarkably those three victories exclusively came in the Betfair Chase.
Additionally, the dashing ten-year-old grey was runner-up in the 2019 edition of the contest. Unsurprisingly, the bulk of his ￡500,000 in career winnings have emanated from this three-mile-one-furlong race.
With advancing years and a pulled-up effort on his final start of the 2020/21 season – albeit in the Grand National – it is tempting to overlook Bristol De Mai.
But with his amazing record in this contest, it is impossible to write off the French-bred. The bookies certainly haven’t and the best price available about him winning a fourth Betfred Chase is just 4/1.
Destination to Arrive After Three Years Off?
No one would begrudge another contender, Next Destination, a big race victory. A classy hurdler in his early career, the son of flat-miler Dubai Destination was off the track for 920 days following an injury sustained in April 2018.
He has been switched from Willie Mullins’s stables to those of Paul Nicholls and has made a real impression on his new trainer. Nicholls recently described him as “a very classy horse.”
A Long Patient Wait
It is well over three-and-a-half years since Waiting Patiently last won a race. But that victory came over the super-classy Cue Card and Frodon in the Grade One Ascot Chase. Frodon is still winning at the highest level today.
Unquestionably a horse with ample talent, Waiting Patiently has been plagued by injuries and his limited racecourse appearances have been well spaced out.
This season the ten-year-old, that built up a sequence of seven undefeated victories in his early career, has a new trainer. The up-and-coming Christian Williams has taken over his preparations.
Speaking to the Times earlier in the week, the former jockey said:
“He [Waiting Patiently] seems in good form, it took him a few weeks to settle in, but we’ve had him a good four months now and we’ve done loads of steady, slow work with him. We couldn’t be happier with him.”
Tard Gets an A+
It would be no surprise if any of the aforementioned horses were to shrug off their advancing years or injury woes and took the Betfair Chase. But the big-race favorite has rock-solid credentials and no questions to answer.
Under regular rider Rachael Blackmore, A Plus Tard took the Close Brothers Novices’ Handicap Chase ahead of 19 rivals at the ITV televised 2019 Cheltenham Festival and he has not stopped improving since.
Last season Henry De Bromhead’s exciting horse beat a heap of star performers – including Samcro, Delta Work, Presenting Percy, Melon and Kemboy – in the Savilles Chase at Leopardstown. He then proceeded to finish a gutsy second to Minella Indo in the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Never finishing outside the first three in a 16-race career, the seven-year-old probably has his best years ahead of him.
Currently 7/1 in the Gold Cup ante-post betting, he’s a strong fancy for Saturday’s Betfair sponsored contest. If winning as predicted, those odds could be more than halved whilst he is being unsaddled in Haydock’s winner’s enclosure.
This Weekend’s Top Tips:
A Plus Tard 3.00 pm Haydock 6/4 BetVictor
