Bristol De Mai '100 per cent' as he seeks record-equalling fourth Betfair Chase

Saturday: 3.00 Haydock
Betfair Chase (Grade 1) | 3m1½f | 5yo+ | ITV/RTV

Bristol De Mai, the undisputed king of Haydock, has been almost unbeatable around his beloved Merseyside track during a stellar career.

He has won five of his six races there and it’s hard to believe that, win, lose or dead-heat on Saturday, he won’t be honoured with his own Haydock race some time in the near future.

Bristol De Mai’s three wins from four appearances in the Betfair Chase are testament to both his love of Haydock in mid-November and Nigel Twiston-Davies’s preparation in getting him spot on for the number-one race in his calendar.

For a combination of reasons – mainly the fact that he relishes Haydock’s flat, galloping, left-handed circuit and goes particularly well fresh – Bristol De Mai has become Mr Betfair Chase.

Those wins have created expectations for other big races such as the King George, Gold Cup and Grand National and, while he has never let anyone down, it’s fair to say his best chance of Grade 1 success each year is always the Betfair Chase.

To put it more succinctly, the Betfair Chase is always Bristol De Mai’s Gold Cup.

Twiston-Davies, who is understandably fiercely proud of Bristol De Mai’s achievements, couldn’t be more upbeat about the ten-year-old’s prospects of gaining a fourth Betfair Chase crown to equal Kauto Star’s achievements in the Grade 1.

“He’s 100 per cent, we’re really looking forward to running him and we have no worries at all with him,” he said.

“It looks a good race. We’ve got the Gold Cup second in there and numerically it’s the strongest it’s been for some time.

“He’s in good form, though, and he goes on every ground. He loves it around there and we couldn’t have him better.”

'Bold-leaping, front-running grey so easy to fall in love with'

Anthony Bromley, racing manager to Simon Munir and Isaac Souede, proud owners of Bristol De Mai, pays tribute to the grey

Bristol De Mai is not only Simon and Isaac’s highest-rated horse ever but also their most well known.

It is not hard to see why. As a bold-leaping, front-running grey, particularly around his beloved Haydock, he is so easy to fall in love with.

He burst on to the scene as a juvenile for them, easily winning the Grade 1 Finale Hurdle at Chepstow, and this will be his eighth campaign as a Grade 1 performer in the double green colours.

He is a great credit to the whole team at Grange Hill Farm, from Nigel Twiston-Davies to head lad and regular rider Richard ‘Sparky’ Bevis and those who have cared for him so well over the years – Janie Lloyd, Fay Shulton, Frankie Pullar and most recently Gemma McQuillan.

Simon and Isaac’s jockey, Daryl Jacob, has forged an amazing rapport with him and has ridden their stellar horse in all but one of his previous 33 British starts.

Bristol De Mai is lining up in his fifth consecutive Betfair Chase and is trying to win his fourth – a feat we are all very proud of. Win or lose, he will still be a champion in our eyes.

A Plus Tard bids for Irish first

A Plus Tard, runner-up in the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March, seeks to become the first Irish-trained winner of the Betfair Chase since its inception in 2005.

His trainer Henry de Bromhead is a relative stranger to Haydock, but his staff and horses were based at the track in the Irish bubble during the Grand National meeting at Aintree.

A Plus Tard makes his first appearance since going down by a length and a quarter to stablemate Minella Indo in a stirring finish at the festival and the key to his chance this time is clearly going to be fitness.

A Plus Tard: 'The ground is good to soft at the moment, so it should be lovely for him'Credit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

The richly talented seven-year-old has been beaten on his seasonal reappearance in each of his previous three campaigns for De Bromhead and is taking on a much stronger calibre of rival than he did on any of those occasions.

It will be interesting to see which way he goes in the market nearer off-time, having been a strong favourite all week.

De Bromhead said: "He seems to be in very good form and travelled over well. The ground is good to soft at the moment, so it should be lovely for him.

"It's a Grade 1 going left-handed, so it was always going to be his starting point for the season. It should suit him well. It's obviously a seriously competitive race with Bristol De Mai and a few other top staying chasers in there, but what else would you expect for a Grade 1?

"I'm happy with my horse and we're looking forward to the race."

Williams excited about Waiting Patiently

It’s a huge day for both Waiting Patiently and Christian Williams.

The fast-rising trainer has been given the opportunity to showcase his talents with a top-class chaser whose only Grade 1 success came at Ascot in February 2018.

Since beating Cue Card and Frodon in the Ascot Chase, Waiting Patiently has failed to add to his tally in seven subsequent Grade 1s.

He has often looked unlucky but time is ticking with the ten-year-old and Williams has been tasked with perhaps getting that extra five per cent out of him.

Waiting Patiently: 'I've got plenty of confidence in our horse – let's hope it's his day'Credit: Alan Crowhurst (Getty Images)

You can rest assured Waiting Patiently will be 100 per cent fit for this assignment and Williams said: “We’re looking forward to it. He seems well. We’ve enjoyed a really good run with him.

“It’s a great renewal – there are some great horses in there. It’s an honour to be taking part in such a race.

“I’ve got plenty of confidence in our horse – let’s hope it’s his day.”

What they say

Kim Bailey, trainer of Imperial Aura
He's stepping up to three miles, which I think will suit. It's a very interesting contest and if he manages to finish in the first three I'll be delighted. He's in a good place at present. We won't know whether the wind operation has worked until after the race.

Venetia Williams, trainer of Royale Pagaille
We really wanted more rain. There are so few races for the good horses, so if you don't take your chance when the races are there, you find yourself keeping the horse in the stable for the next month or more. It's a course he knows his way around well but it's a hugely competitive race, as expected. The Gold Cup was a top-class race on quickish ground, it found many horses out, and him included. A lot of his racing last season was largely in handicaps – the Gold Cup and this race are the only time he's faced this sort of opposition. We hope he can go there and be competitive.

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