Bristol blows Chase rivals away to set up treble bid
BRISTOL DE MAI left connections dreaming of a £1million bonus after he bolted up in the Betfair Chase at Haydock.
With the first leg of the big treble firmly in the bag, Nigel Twiston-Davies’ front-running grey will now head to Kempton on St Stephen’s Day for the King George VI Chase – with the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March the holy grail.
The six-year-old was simply awesome as he crossed the line a staggering 57 lengths clear of the gallant Cue Card, a threetime winner of this Grade One feature.
The 11-10 favourite dominated from flag-fall under Daryl Jacob and never saw another rival to complete a bigrace double for owners Simon Munir and Isaac Souede, who also claimed the Christy 1965 Chase at Ascot with Top Notch.
‘That was very good,’ TwistonDavies said. ‘I didn’t have to worry about too much. I only had to worry about the last few fences and he jumped them well.
‘We’ve had a brief chat and the idea would be the King George, the Cotswold Chase and then the Gold Cup.
‘You might not get this ground (at Kempton), but we’ll see. I’m not that worried about it. He’s always worked fantastically well and he’s a supreme horse. He’s very much an Imperial Commander type – he’s a big, strong, gorgeous horse.
‘We was a bit of a rush to get the Gold Cup last year. He was ready, but I don’t think he was at his best. From what he does at home you wouldn’t think he’s improved from last season, but he obviously has.
‘He was beaten 20 lengths in the Gold Cup. It’s a shame Sizing John isn’t here so we could find out (how much he’s improved).’
The winner’s co-owner Simon Munir said: ‘That’s absolutely amazing. It’s wonderful. These are the days that one comes into racing for.
‘Just speaking to Daryl and he’s in a state of shock. He was saying he wanted to increase the pace. He thought everybody had fallen behind him. To win by 57 lengths is amazing. The King George is what we’re looking at.’
Trainer Colin Tizzard accepted that Cue Card had been beaten by a horse on top of his game, adding: ‘I think he’s run on par with his other runs. He’s just been beaten by a very good horse on the day. The winner blew the race away.’