Disappointment for the Haydock optimists as A Plus Tard revives memories of 2019

Apparently Haydock on Saturday was half full of people who wanted to tell Henry de Bromhead no Irish horse had ever won a Betfair Chase, as if this was some kind of evidence that his A Plus Tard was facing an uphill struggle and the prize was destined to stay at home. Being a good businessman, De Bromhead must surely have recognised each of them as hopeless optimists and sold them a racehorse.

Or maybe he'd done his homework and pointed out that Irish runners had been very thin on the ground and the last one was Outlander four years ago. It would have been a fair stat to raise if every Betfair Chase had been like the first one, when Beef Or Salmon and Kicking King came over.

They were chasing a £1m bonus that no longer exists. In future years, the big draw for Irish raiders will be the chance to duff up the Brits. Just one 'home' runner finished within 50 lengths of the winner and it's a fair bet we'll be saying similar things after other Grade 1s in the months ahead.