Why did A Plus Tard flop in the Betfair Chase? There's one obvious answer

It looked like an effort, that's what you could say about A Plus Tard's hugely disappointing run in the Betfair Chase on Saturday. The year before he'd been attacking his fences or soaring over them for almost the whole of the first circuit, but nothing looked easy for him this time and many of those who backed him would have been ill at ease from an early stage.

He jumped out to his right at a couple of fences in the back straight on the first circuit then put in an extra stride at the final obstacle in that line, emerging a couple of lengths off Protektorat. There was another extra stride at the ninth and he went through the top of both that and the following fence.

Rachael Blackmore was her usual icily poised self for most of the way, but there was a suspicion she wasn't holding on to a whole lot and she started to ask questions from the end of the back straight the second time, at which point in the previous year's race A Plus Tard already looked home and hosed.