ITV Racing Tips: A Plus Tard set to thwart Bristol De Mai in his four-time bid
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The stars are starting to come out as we go deeper into the jumps season with this weekend’s staging of the Betfair Chase, the first top level staying chase prize of the campaign in Britain.
Much of the focus will fall on ten-year-old Bristol De Mai’s attempt to win the race for an extraordinary fourth time.
Only one horse, the legendary Kauto Star, has four wins in the race and at Haydock Bristol De Mai has been very difficult to beat with five wins from six appearances.
Among those hoping to gatecrash the party are A Plus Tard, the Cheltenham Gold Cup runner-up who will be ridden by Rachel Blackmore, and Waiting Patiently, who is having his first start for Christian Williams.
Away from Haydock other well known names will be in action at Ascot where the likes of Dashel Drasher, Defi Du Seuil and Lostintranslation clash over fences and Buzz, last seen winning the Cesarewitch on the Flat, meets Goshen over hurdles.
They are part of a seven race TV package, four from Haydock and three from Ascot. Coverage begins at 1.30pm on ITV and we have previewed the three most significant races of the day in our ITV Racing Tips.
Course and distance specialist Dashel Drasher is four-out-of four at Ascot and will be strongly fancied to keep the run going under a new jockey Rex Dingle, who stands in for Matt Griffiths who was seriously injured in a fatal car accident last month.
The rider change should have no impact, the opposition might. Lostintranslation is a former Betfair Chase winner who lost his way last season and now returns after wind surgery.
A bigger threat could be Defi Du Seuil who at his best was the top 2m chaser in the land when he defeated Un De Sceaux twice in the Tingle Creek and Clarence House Chase in 2019-2020. He managed just two appearances last season and has also had wind surgery.
The 2m5f trip will be new to him but he won the JLT Novices’ Chase over 2m4, from Lostintranslation,f so it should not be beyond him. He has bounced back from indifferent campaigns before and there is every chance he can do it again here.
Buzz, whose Cesarewitch victory will be fresh in the minds, tries to underline his status as a potential Champion Hurdle contender.
The grey climbed the handicap ranks last season, ending the campaign with second place in the Aintree Hurdle. He now meets two more established names in Goshen and last year’s race winner Song For Someone plus the mare Molly Ollys Wishes.
The talented Goshen was due to reappear at Wincanton recently but was pulled out because of the ground. These conditions will be more to his liking and if he can reproduce the form of his Kingwell Hurdle win, in which he beat Song For Someone by 22 lengths, he should be tough to beat.
Popular grey Bristol De Mai is mustard round Haydock where he has won on five of his six appearances, three of them in this race.
He needs one more to match Kauto Star’s record but he is going to find conditions rather different to previous outings. He revels on heavy but, unless there is a deluge, the forecast going is good.
That could leave him exposed to pacier chasers like A Plus Tard and Waiting Patiently. Waiting Patiently has his first start since leaving Ruth Jefferson for Christian Williams and has not won beyond 2m6f.
A Plus Tard won the Savills Chase over 3m last December and was only beaten a length and a quarter in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. He has 6lb in hand on his rivals on official figures and should be able to underline his superiority.
If all eight runners stand their ground, Chatham Street Lad could be a solid each-way alternative.
ITV Racing Schedule, Saturday, 20th November
13:50 Haydock – 2m5f graduation chase
14:05 Ascot – Paddy Power Gold Cup
14:25 Haydock – 1965 Chase
14:40 Ascot – Coral Hurdle
15:00 Haydock– Betfair Chase
15:15 Ascot – 2m handicap chase
15:35 Haydock – 3m1f handicap chase
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
