The Saturday Preview
A look ahead at some of the fantastic racing we have to look forward to this Saturday, headlined by the Betfair Chase at Haydock, with the return of the Cheltenham Gold Cup winner A Plus Tard, as well as the return of Champion Hurdle favourite Constitution Hill at Ascot.
The Return of Constitution Hill
Following his 22-length demolishing of the field in the Supreme Novice Hurdle back in March, the enthusiasm surrounding Constitution Hill has grown stronger and stronger, and such excitement is only furthered by Trainer Nicky Henderson’s positive remarks about the horse across the past few weeks.
The current 2/7 favourite for this year’s renewal of the Grade 2 Coral Hurdle at Ascot on Saturday is scheduled to face 4 rivals, including the Grade 2 winning Brewin’upastorm, and the enigma that is Goshen, returning to hurdles following a rather unimpressive chasing debut.
Constitution Hill however, should have far too much class for this field if he is anywhere near his standard of last year, and looks likely to justify his current 5/4 price for the Champion Hurdle at next year’s Cheltenham Festival.
L'Homme Presse back in action
Last years Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase winner L’Homme Presse returns to action in the Grade 2 Chanelle Pharma 1965 Chase at Ascot on Saturday for trainer Venetia Williams.
He was last seen finishing third in the Mildmay Novice Chase at Aintree, where the Lucinda Russel trained Ahoy Senor reversed the Cheltenham form by winning the race by 5 lengths.
L’Homme Presse is 8/11 Favourite for his seasonal reappearance on Saturday, and looks likely to return to winning ways amongst Graded company.
The Betfair Chase Preview
The Betfair Chase was first run in 2005 when Kingscliff won for trainer Robert Alner. Since then, the race has seen its fair share of superstars, with previous winners including Kauto Star (a winner on a record four occasions) and Cue Card (a winner on three occasions). This year, a field of five will compete for the prize, with last years standout chaser A Plus Tard heading the market for Henry De Bromhead and Rachael Blackmore.
Here is a short breakdown for each runner in the field.
A Plus Tard
The Cheltenham Gold Cup winning A Plus Tard bids to make it back-to-back Betfair Chases in Saturday’s feature race at Haydock. The Cheveley Park owned Chaser looks to follow the same seasonal route as last year, running at Haydock before going to Leopardstown for the Savills Chase for their December meeting.
A Plus Tard was a comfortable 22 length winner of the race last year, which saw Royal Pagaille, a horse originally scheduled to run in this race, run on into second, but a far way off the leader. The Henry De Bromhead trained star is currently 1/2 favourite in the market, and there is no inclination to suggest he will be beat this time around.
Protektorat
The favourites biggest challenger comes in the form of the Dan Skelton trained Protektorat, who is a Grade 1 winner in his own right. He ran a distant third however, in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, which was won by the favourite in this race A Plus Tard, and he failed to make a serious statement when finishing fourth behind Clan Des Obeaux at Aintree in the Betway Bowl Chase. However, his form overall suggests he is a consistent top-class horse who can prove a tough challenger to anyone.
Bristol De Mai
A true Haydock Park master is the classy grey Bristol De Mai. Bidding to win his fourth Betfair Chase, the Nigel Twiston Davies trained 11-year-old knows his way around the track. Incredibly, Bristol De Mai has not managed to win at any other track except for Haydock Park in his last 17 starts since impressively winning his first Betfair Chase in 2017, where he destroyed the field in a 57-length romping, beating the likes of Cue Card and Tea For Two.
Despite a good run in the Grand National Trial at Haycock last February, He has struggled to seriously regain his form of the past, last seen pulling up before the second from home in the Aintree Betway Bowl Chase when well beaten. Whilst his record around the track stands him in good stead, his recent form looks to be a concern, making him unlikely to cause a serious challenge to the favourite.
Eldorado Allen
The Joe Tizzard Trained 8-year-old made his seasonal reappearance last month, finishing a comfortably beat, yet still impressive second behind Bravemansgame in the Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby.
He was seen last year winning the high-class Grade 2 Betfair Denman Chase at Newbury, where he beat the likes of Clan Des Obeaux and Royale Pagaille in nice fashion. He was also a respectable third in the Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham.
However, he was well beat on his final start of last season, finishing 7th in the Betway Bowl Chase at Aintree, coming home behind a Betfair Chase rival in Protektorat, who finished fourth.
He currently sits at around 12/1 in the market, making him an outsider in the race however, if he returns to the form showed at times last year, he is more than capable of running a very good race, making him a fantastic each way bet.
Frodon
The final runner in the race is the legend that is Frodon. The Paul Nicholls trained stalwart was last seen defying top weight to win the Badger Beer Handicap Chase at Wincanton.
The 10-year-old has run at a consistently high level for years, and is of course a previous winner of both the King George and Ryanair Chase.
However, despite his performance last time out, he showed little promise last year in graded company to suggest he could return to this form, as despite winning a Grade 1 in Ireland just over a year ago, he was comfortably beaten in the Irish Gold Cup in February, and then again in the Ultima Handicap Chase at the festival.
Currently placed at 16/1 in the market, Frodon looks unlikely to make a statement at Haydock this Saturday, however, there is nothing to suggest he cannot defy the odds once again with Bryony Frost on board and run a very respectable r
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