Classy A Plus Tard can strike a blow for Irish in Betfair Chase
Henry de Bromhead and Rachael Blackmore combined to wipe the floor with British horses at Cheltenham and Aintree last season and they can continue in a similar vein by winning the Betfair Chase with A Plus Tard at Haydock today.
No Irish horse has won the Betfair Chase since it was instigated in 2005, but then few have contested it. De Bromhead, however, has some good staying chasers to keep apart before Cheltenham in March and it makes good sense sending one to Haydock. In testing conditions, De Bromhead’s seven-year-old might well have found today’s race an away match, because his British rivals almost invariably favour soft or heavy ground but, on good to soft, he should have too much class and too many gears for them.
Few horses go better at Haydock than Bristol De Mai and, although Nigel Twiston-davies’s 10-year-old grey has won it three times, including once on this sort of ground, he has been trained for today as if it is his Gold Cup and has not missed a beat since June. However he will need to be at his very best to stop the Irish challenger.
Royale Pagaille looked sensational when winning the Peter
Marsh over course and distance last January but that was on heavy. He ran in the Gold Cup, but never got into the race before finishing lame.
Paul Nicholls would have fancied out-and-out stayer Next Destination on heavy but he needs 19lb of improvement to match A Plus Tard.
Perhaps the biggest threat to the Irish favourite is Waiting Patiently, who moved from Ruth Jefferson to Christian Williams during the summer to exploit the trainer’s proximity to the beach. He was second to Frodon in last year’s King George and, though three miles is probably the outer range limit of his stamina, horses often improve a little first time out after a change of scenery.