Key questions: La Bague Au Roi out to erase Wetherby flop in Peterborough Chase

Fitzdares Peterborough Chase (Grade 2) | 4yo+ | 2m4f | RUK

Can La Bague Au Roi get fortunes back on track?

Grade 1-winning mare La Bague Au Roi heads for the race with connections hoping she can bounce back from a lacklustre performance in the Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby where she was disappointingly pulled up when out of contention.

She had run in snatches and not jumped with her usual alacrity before Richard Johnson called it a day there, and her trainer Warren Greatrex will hope his star can leave that effort behind on this slight step down the class ladder.

If the mare was successful in this race it would leave Greatrex possibly eyeing a bonus of £500,000 put up by race sponsors Fitzdares for any horse who lands this prize and goes on to take the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day and the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

La Bague Au Roi will receive an inviting mares' allowance of 4lb-plus from all her rivals and, on previous form, is the class act in the six-strong field, taking into account that at around this time a year ago she landed a hat-trick of victories culminating in the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase.

Greatrex said: "She seems in very good form and the trip and track should be absolutely fine for her. She gets a good mares' allowance and we would be hopeful of a very good run."

Has the handicapper got it right?

The Venetia Williams-trained Aso, who finished third behind Ballyoptic in the Charlie Hall last month, is the highest-rated horse on 168, which would see him concede weight all round if this were a handicap.

Aso: 'He is the one they all have to beat if the handicapper is right'Credit: Alan Crowhurst / Getty Images

All of the nine-year-old's best performances in recent years have come at around the 2m4f trip, so this race looks certain to play to his strengths. There is no reason he will not improve for the Wetherby outing as it was his first since having to settle for second behind Frodon in the Ryanair Chase at the festival.

Williams said: “He is in good form and this is the right race for him as two and a half miles is his trip, so hopefully he is the one they all have to beat if the handicapper is right.

"I would ideally like to see a drop more rain at the course as he does not want it to dry up too much. If he were to win, his longer-term aim would be the Ryanair Chase again.”

Will history repeat itself?

Winners of the last two runnings – Charbel (2018) and Top Notch (2017) – will try to land the race again but they come into it at opposite ends of the spectrum on recent form.

Charbel has not won since landing the race a year ago and has proved frustrating in half a dozen outings – a summer wind operation and the fitting of cheekpieces last time at Exeter seemingly having little effect.

His trainer Kim Bailey said: “He’s had a couple of niggles which we’ve hopefully been able to sort out; we’ll see. He’s run well at Huntingdon before and the flat track there suits him.

"He is a bit of an unknown quantity at the moment and this looks a tougher race than the one he ran in last year."

Charbel: last year's Peterborough Chase winner is 'a bit of an unknown quantity at the moment'Credit: Edward Whitaker

Top Notch, who landed the prize two years ago when it was switched to Taunton as Huntingdon was snowed off, comes into the race after a typically terrier-like success at Aintree. That win was over hurdles and he now reverts to jumping fences.

What the trainers say

Nicky Henderson, trainer of Top Notch

He won really well over hurdles at Aintree last time when he was very resolute. He’ll be a fair bit straighter for this race and he seems in really good form. It’s a hot little race but he’s in good shape, so hopefully he’ll run well.

Dan Skelton, trainer of Born Survivor

Looking at the ground, I think he has a little each-way squeak. It’s a competitive race but we're very happy with our horse.

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