A Plus Tard team left baffled after Haydock setback
HENRY DE BROMHEAD was at a loss to to explain a performance he described as ‘too bad to be true’ from his Gold Cup hero A Plus Tard in defence of his Betfair Chase crown at Haydock yesterday.
The Cheveley Park Stud-owned eight-year-old was imperious in winning on Merseyside 12 months ago, sauntering 22 lengths clear under Rachael Blackmore. It was a similar story at Cheltenham in March as A Plus Tard sprinted up the hill to mark himself down as the clear king of the division.
He was unsurprisingly all the rage for his eagerly-awaited return to action as the 1/2 favourite, but it was clear relatively early that it was not going to be plain sailing.
Blackmore settled A Plus Tard at the rear of the five-runner field, but had started to ask questions of her mount leaving the back straight.
He was already in trouble when a slow leap at the fourth from home sealed his fate, with Blackmore pulling up before the next obstacle.
Dan Skelton’s Protektorat was a commanding winner with a performance that put him firmly in the Gold Cup frame.
‘I was never that happy, to be honest,’ Blackmore said. ‘When I did decide we were going to pull up, he stopped very quickly under me – he was very easy to pull up. He seemed fine trotting back, but I was never that happy throughout the race.’
Asked whether she felt the soft ground was a factor, Blackmore added: ‘Possibly, but he’s a very classy horse and I was hoping that wouldn’t have been an issue.’
De Bromhead was similarly perplexed and will give A Plus Tard a full check-up on his return to Waterford. ‘It was obviously too bad to be true. That’s the best thing to say I think for the moment,’ he said.
‘We’ll get him home and see. He was in mighty form coming over, but he looked laboured didn’t he?
‘Maybe the ground (was a factor), but I don’t want to make excuses.
‘He seems fine, but we’ll scope him and check him. We can’t say anything (about future plans), we need to go through everything. It was very unlike him.’
Protektorat was cut to 10/1 from 25s for the Cheltenham Gold Cup and 5s from 12/1 for the King George VI Chase at Kempton on St Stephen’s Day.
‘We didn’t have a plan for beyond this, we are looking at the Gold Cup in the spring because we ran in the race last year,’ said Skelton.
‘But I always felt this horse could improve. He’s not an old horse, he has had three goes at the trip – once it didn’t count it was an afterthought, once was the Gold Cup, and once was at Aintree.
‘This today was his fourth go and he is allowed to improve for a lot of reasons. I’m chuffed to bits, it’s absolutely magic.’
Meanwhile, at Punchestown, Kilcruit made a perfect start over fences as he cruised to victory in the Lily & Wild Beginners Chase.
Willie Mullins’ charge was one of the leading lights in the bumper ranks in the 2020-21 season, chasing home Sir Gerhard at Cheltenham before landing Grade One glory at the Punchestown Festival, but he disappointed over hurdles last term, winning only once in five starts.
Switched to fences, the 1/5 favourite delighted jockey Paul Townend in coming home a nine-and-a-halflength winner over 50-1 shot Willywampus, with the race losing some of its sparkle as classy hurdler Journey With Me was ruled out due to unsuitable ground.
Townend said: ‘He showed a lovely attitude towards fences. When I caught up with the horse in front and we faced down the back, he latched on and took on his fences really well.
‘It was nice to have another horse there as we were able to get a lead, be upsides and jump in front. He learned a lot more today and I just love the way he was looking for the next fence and wanted to take it on.’
The Oak Lodge Landscapes Craddockstown Novice Chase was the feature event on the card and the Grade Two honours went the way of Midnight Run.
Trained by Joseph O’Brien and ridden by Bryan Cooper, Midnight Run was sent off a 7/4 chance after three podium finishes so far this term. But he made no mistake this time, powering home by nine lengths to open his chasing account.