Betfair Chase 2017 Preview

November 22, 2017 by William Kedjanyi Leave a Comment

Join the team in form. Our Plays are well in PROFIT for the season – view all Plays for this season

The jumps season is well and truly back. Big names are hitting the track and we have a tremendous amount to look forward to over the next few months, especially the 2017 Betfair Chase. With so much talent packed in the chasing division this season, fans have a lot to be excited about with the race having a track record of attracting the very best. Kauto Star made this race his very own with four wins across five seasons and in-between Imperial Commander added this race to his considerable list of achievements.

There is also the no-small financial aspect of the £1 million bonus on offer for the third season in succession, which is earned if a horse wins the Betfair Chase, the 32Red King George VI Chase and the Timico Cheltenham Gold Cup as Kauto Star did in 2005. It is that financial incentive which has brought Sizing John here for his comeback, with the defending Gold Cup champion having taken his own treble last year when he took the Irish Gold Cup, Cheltenham Gold Cup and Punchestown Gold Cup, the last named race resulting in a pure thriller when he managed to edge out Coneygree and Djakadam.

If you wish to attend you can save £5 by booking your Grandstand and Paddock tickets in advance – BOOK NOW. Just add Betfair5 to the promo code box. (T and Cs apply)*

Jessica Harrington gave racegoers something to look forward to when explaining the path ahead for her stable star Sizing John, telling the Racing Post: “Our aim is to start him off in the Betfair Chase at Haydock on 25th November.” He looks fantastic. We’re keen to have a crack at the £1 million bonus for winning the three races at Haydock, Kempton (King George VI Chase) and Cheltenham (Gold Cup). It’s exciting to have a horse to run in those races, and the Triple Crown has always been on our minds since he won at Punchestown.”

The Charlie Hall Chase has often been a good trial for this, and we saw two contenders have very different experiences at Wetherby. Bristol De Mai came right back to his best to beat stablemate Blaklion in a one-two for trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies, an impressive performance given that Bristol De Mai was giving 6lbs to the runner up on his debut.

He pushed on from a long way out – he was in the lead rounding the home turn – so to find enough to hold off his stablemate was an impressive performance and he’s now returning to what is undoubtedly his best track.

Cue Card was still going well when he fell at the fifth last from home, with connections inclined to blame the low sun for his fall. “He took his eye off it, jockey Paddy Brennan told the Racing Post after the race. “Early on in the race he was a bit sluggish but once I got him up there down the back I was happier. “But fallers don’t win races. He was all right and there’s always another day.”

There won’t be another day for Paddy Brennan, who has lost the ride to Harry Cobden in the future. This has split opinion amongst some, with Brennan having partnered Cue Card to five Grade 1 wins, but three falls, including two at the same fence when travelling extremely well in the Gold Cup.

Cobden, a prodigious talent at the age of 19 who already has a taste of top levels success thanks to Irving’s win in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle and is the current Conditional Champion Jockey, has softer hands than Brennan when delivering his horses into the wings of a fence, and that could be beneficial for a horse who is a very strong traveller through his races. It would be unwise to write him off as many have done so far – Kauto Star faced the same calls for retirement but when went onto win this race famously for the fourth time in 2011.

We could also see Nicky Henderson’s enigmatic chaser Might Bite return. The eight-year-old produced an absolutely remarkable performance to destroy what turned out to be a good field in the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase (better known as the Feltham Chase), falling at the last when 18 lengths clear of a subsequent winner Royal Vacation who won by 12 lengths off 144 at Cheltenham next time out, and he then ground his opposition into submission in the RSA Chase, turning home 10 lengths clear before suddenly jinking towards the standside, coming to a stop and rallying to get the better of the fast finishing Whisper.

He would then double up at Aintree despite that huge effort, when he was much more professional in the smaller field. It is not a certainty that he comes here, but if he does he will have had a run in the Future Champions Novice Chase at Sandown, giving him the big advantage of a run. We’ll know a lot more after then.

An interesting contender is Tea For Two, who gave Lizzie Kelly the highlight of her career when beating Cue Card in the Betfair Bowl, having fallen early in the Gold Cup. He got the better of Cue Card at Aintree in what was a career best and it’s best to completely forget his appearance over a trip that was way too sharp in the Old Roan Chase and this ground and trip ought to see him come right back to his best.

Gordon Elliott’s Lexus Chase winner Outlander would be a fascinating contender if he arrived here. He needed the run badly on his seasonal debut and was also injured at Punchestown in a Grade 3 on his seasonal debut but he came on leaps and bounds for that to then battle hard to win the JNWine Champion Chase and do so in game style with Road To Respect beaten fair and square. 14 lengths behind was Zabana in third, and should he repeat that effort here – he has been in and out in the past – he will take a power of beating.

* Ticket discount Terms and Conditions

The code Betfair5 needs to be applied to the promo box in the online checkout
This only applies to web sales, not racecourse or call centre sales
Only four tickets can be purchased in any one transaction and for the Grandstand and Paddock area
The offer runs until Friday 24 November

Find out more about joining our Community – Community Membership – is it for you?

Betfair Chase 2015 Preview

November 19, 2015 by Scott Ruderham Leave a Comment

The first Grade 1 race for 3 miler chasers in the UK jumps season is the Betfair Chase, which will take place this Saturday at 3:00 at Haydock. The race this year forms the first leg of an amazing £1 million bonus being offered, if any horse completes the ‘Triple Crown’ of the Betfair Chase, King George VI Chase and Cheltenham Gold Cup.

The roll of honour in this race holds some prestigious names, such as 2010 Cheltenham Gold Cup hero Imperial Commander, and four timer winner and dual Cheltenham Gold Cup hero Kauto Star.
This year’s renewal looks to be one of the best in recent memory, with 6 of the 7 potential runners being previous Cheltenham Festival winners.

Two previous winners will return for the £200,000 contest, including dual winner and ante post favourite Silviniaco Conti. The Paul Nicholls nine year old gelding will be competing in his fourth Betfair Chase, after taking the race in 2012 and 2014, and finishing a creditable third in 2013. After disappointing in three attempts at the Cheltenham Gold Cup, his trainer Paul Nicholls has openly stated that Cheltenham will not be a likely option this year, instead focusing on Saturday’s big race, and then on to the defence of his King George VI chase at Kempton on Boxing Day. Aintree at the Grand National meeting will also be a key objective this season.

A prep run over hurdles at Kempton three week ago, where he finished second will give a much needed fitness boost to the defending champion which will give him the edge over his main rivals, whom he has defeated before.

Cue Card goes in to the race in form after winning the Charlie Hall Chase last month. The Colin Tizzard trained nine year old, a two time Cheltenham Festival winner has had his health issues the past season, with a trapped epiglottis. This seems to have been put right after a dominating performance to land the Grade two at Wetherby. Winner of the race in 2013, doubts about stamina are quickly diminished and another bold showing could well be on the cards. The only doubt that even the biggest Cue Card fan can have, is that the he has not won two consecutive races since his finest season, in the early part of 2013. This has to be a big negative.

David Pipe will have two bites at the cherry going in to the race, with his former Ryanair chase winner, the popular grey Dynaste, and his French import Ballynagour. Both horses ran in the Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby last month. Dynaste finishing a creditable second behind Cue Card. Dynaste, an old rival of Cue Card, who finished 2nd behind him in the 2013 Betfair Chase, will have to find almost 4 lengths to overhaul the Wetherby defeat. Ballynagour, a consistent performer, will make his Haydock debut at the weekend. Running out of handicaps since his 2014 Byrne Group Plate win at the Cheltenham Festival, he will be ridden with patience, and hope to challenge the leaders late on in the race. Whether he is quite good enough to compete in the Big Grade 1 chases still remains to be seen. The main concern I have with both Dynaste and Ballynagour is the lack of form the David Pipe yard showed at the Cheltenham Paddy Power Open meeting last weekend, where the stable drew a blank for the first time at the meeting since 2007.

Holywell will take his chance for Jonjo O’Neil in the race for the first time. His first run of the season also came in the Charlie Hall, finishing a disappointing fifth behind Cue Card. Most of his best form seems to come in the spring, with recent memorable big race wins coming in the 2013 Pertemps Final, 2014 Ultima Business Solutions Festival Handicap Chase and the Mildmay Novices Chase in 2014 at the Aintree Festival.
He would be one for me to avoid in this race, as he thrives on better ground and the task at Haydock will prove too tough for him I feel.

Race Verdict:

With a prep run, and avoiding the Charlie Hall Chase against the rivals who have already competed against each other this season, I will have to side with the favourite Silviniaco Conti. The Kempton run over hurdles will have helped his fitness enormously and he will be fully tuned up to put in a big defence of his crown and his early season main aim on Saturday. If returning back from injury to the horse he was in 2014, O’ Faolains Boy could be the each way play of the race

Silviniaco Conti – 3 pts Win @ 5/6 with William Hill

JPFestival.com TV Betfair Chase Weekend Wrap

November 27, 2013 by Jonathan Pollinger Leave a Comment

Betfair Chase Grade 1 (CLASS 1) (5yo+) 3m1f Haydock Park: Preview (Updated Saturday)

November 23, 2013 by Graham Richards Leave a Comment

3:00

HAY

Betfair Chase (Registered As The Lancashire Chase) Grade 1 3m1f

FSF ratings (Weight adjusted)

BOBS WORTH	178	SILVINIACO CONTI	173
TIDAL BAY	175	THE GIANT BOLSTER	169
CUE CARD	174	ROI DU MEE	162
LONG RUN	160	DYNASTE	145

TIMEFORM (Weight adjusted)

Bobs Worth 193

Cue Card 193

Tidal Bay 188

Silviniaco Conti 186

Long Run 184

Roi du Mee 183

Bobs Worth goes well fresh, holds all his rivals on form, and tops the ratings. With an extra furlong to run this year, (switched to the well-used flat track) stamina will be the deciding factor. Silviniaco Conti fell three from home in the Gold Cup. Although he had travelled well up to that point, who knows what he would have found when the button was pressed? Stayed on strongly to take this race last year and shows his best form at this time of the year. Tidal Bay is a star. He retains all this enthusiasm at an age when most horses would be chomping grass happily in a field. Second to Imperial Commander in 2010, he should not be discarded from your final thoughts. If it does becomes a gruelling stamina test, history suggests he will be finishing strongly. I felt Cue Card was disappointing on his reappearance even allowing for lack of full fitness. Yet to prove he stays this far, his “gung-ho” style of racing suggests stamina will be stretched to the limit. Long Run returned home with a problem after a disappointing run at Wetherby. He is reported back on song but looks held on Gold Cup form. The Giant Bolster is consistent if just below what is needed at this level. Roi Du Mee bolted up at Down Royal recently. However, Sizing Europe failed to stay while Mount Benbulben appeared to be going equally as well when departing the fun at the third last. Dynaste has it all to do on FSF ratings. Improvement can be expected, and he has a big win over the “Fixed Brush” hurdles at this track to his name.

Perhaps, a race to savour, rather than getting financially involved.

Stars set to shine in The Betfair Chase

November 22, 2013 by Jonathan Pollinger Leave a Comment

Since it’s introduction in 2005, the Betfair Chase has attracted the best staying chasers in the business. Kingscliff won the inaugural race defeating Irish legend Beef Or Salmon, with the Gold Cup winner Kicking King back in third. A year later a young horse from France arrived at Haydock with a big reputation and did not disappoint. Winning in devastating fashion leaving Beef Or Salmon 17 lengths adrift; onlookers heralded the arrival of a new chasing star. A few weeks later he stepped back in trip to win the Tingle Creek before completing an incredible spell of chasing by winning his first King George at Kempton. The Aon Chase followed in February 2007 before the final act of chasing domination was completed with a first Gold Cup success at Cheltenham. That short period of incredible performances marked Kauto Star down as a future equine jumps legend. That domination continued, with a further three victories in the Betfair Chase along with a total of five King George wins and two Gold Cups. There can be little doubt that Kauto loved Haydock, almost as much as his King George venue, Kempton. Titanic battles were witnessed year after year by adoring fans. The Barry Geraghty ridden Exotic Dancer pushed Kauto all the way in 2007. Paul Nicholls’ superstar looked a probable winner again in 2008 when stumbling after the last and unseating a devastated Sam Thomas. In 2009 the future Gold Cup winner Imperial Commander pushed Kauto to the very limit when a thrilling head-bobbing finish saw our hero a nostril ahead at the line. Yet he saved possibly his finest performance for his final visit to Haydock in 2011. Written off by many as too old and past his prime, he was given a forceful ride by Ruby Walsh before jumping and galloping his opponents into submission. Rarely has a crowd become so emotionally involved in a race. Fans roared their encouragement all the way down the home straight. Such an eruption of emotion has rarely been seen as Kauto crossed the line. The scenes of joy in the winners enclosure from fans, trainer, jockey and owners, have become treasured memories. On Saturday the best three milers in training will arrive at the wonderful northern track. The race has attracted a stellar field. The winner will again become a leading contender for the likes of the King George and later the Cheltenham Gold Cup. As in years gone by stars will shine in the Betfair Chase, though non brighter than our beloved all-time great, Kauto Star.