Old and young combine in a test that will be as fascinating as it is gruelling

In the context of the overall Timico Cheltenham Gold Cup picture, there is a hint of a phoney war about the field that has materialised for the Betfair Chase.

None of the top 12 in the betting for the sport’s marquee event in March will be in attendance at Haydock, with the reigning champion Sizing John ruled out on Wednesday when the reality of the gruelling ground conditions became clear.

In all likelihood the prospect of anything devouring the Jockey Club's £1 million triple crown carrot went with him.

And yet, this £200,000 extended three-miler still promises to be a fascinating contest, shaping up as it is to be an old-fashioned slog between a few of the most popular and pugilistic mud-lovers. There is more to life than the Cotswolds in March.

Cue Card, the chaser who has captured the hearts of British racing fans more than any other over the past few years, is back for more.

Four times he has run in this race, winning it for a third time when leaving Coneygree and Silviniaco Conti floundering in similarly deep ground a year ago.

After suffering a second fall in three starts in Wetherby's Charlie Hall Chase three weeks ago, he will be ridden here for the first time by Harry Cobden.

Harry Cobden, who will get a taste of the big time when he partners Cue Card in the Betfair ChaseCredit: Hugh Routledge

At 19, Cobden isn’t far off being half the age of the usurped Paddy Brennan, who accepted the demotion magnanimously.

The 11-year-old Cue Card might be in the twilight of his career, but this is nonetheless the sort of golden ticket that could catapult his precocious rider’s nascent star into another stratosphere.

Should the new combination prevail, Cue Card would emulate the mighty Kauto Star’s heady record of four Betfair Chase wins in five attempts. That would be some legacy.

Clash of the ages

In the quest for glory, the Tizzards and owner Jean Bishop have ultimately opted for youth over experience, and there is a hint of that binary about what the market suggests is the main rivalry in the first Grade 1 of the British season. Six-year-old Bristol De Mai, so assured in the Charlie Hall, is the upwardly mobile alternative to the reliable old staple that is Cue Card.

The smart grey is a more volatile sort, but he relishes deep ground and is unbeaten in two at Haydock.

His demolition of the Peter Marsh field in January means that he and Cue Card’s combined Haydock record is five wins from six runs, so something’s got to give.

Outlander has yet to run at Haydock and his belated first appearance in the greater Liverpool area will be intriguing.

OutlanderCredit: Alain Barr

Remember, this is the horse that in February was allocated a rating of 166 for the Grand National, a mark that would have rendered him the highest-rated horse to contest the Aintree showpiece in modern times.

The nine-year-old was promptly ruled out as a consequence, but he showed when bouncing back to form to land his third Grade 1 at Down Royal, on the same day that Bristol De Mai and Cue Card experienced contrasting fates at Wetherby, just how effective he is when things get boggy.

Moreover, in 18-year-old Jack Kennedy he has the assistance of a teenage sensation who has already proven his big-race prowess. Outlander is certainly no rank outsider.

Redoubtable Place

In the Christy 1965 Chase at Ascot, Smad Place, the prototype for redoubtable greys, will look to reaffirm the resurgence that enabled him to defy Cloudy Dream in last month's Old Roan Chase.

Like Smad Place, Coral Hurdle-bound Defi Du Seuil was also last seen at Aintree, albeit at the National meeting in the spring, when he extended his unbeaten hurdling sequence to seven with a third Grade 1 success in the juvenile event.

In the wake of Faugheen’s mesmerising return to the fray, the standard of the Unibet Champion Hurdle scene has been raised again, but Defi Du Seuil has as much scope as anything to step up.

Min the merciless

Willie Mullins won the Coral Hurdle in consecutive years with Annie Power (2013) and Faugheen (2014), but Dicosimo has his first start for Warren Greatrex here after leaving Mullins' yard.

This time, Mullins concentrates on his local Gowran Park venue, where the merciless Min will strive to make a similarly satisfying reappearance as Faugheen.

Nearly a year has passed since the exciting two-miler danced up in the Racing Post Novice Chase at Leopardstown. In five starts for Mullins, the gangly gelding’s only defeat came behind Altior in the 2016 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle.

He will surely enhance that record in a Ladbrokes-sponsored three-runner affair that should barely require him to come out of third gear under Paul Townend.

Idaho in Tokyo

Further afield in Tokyo on Sunday, Aidan O’Brien will vie for Group 1 number 28 of 2017 when Idaho has a stab at the Japan Cup under Ryan Moore. Before then, fans of less exotic Flat fare will keep a close eye on Lingfield and Wolverhampton.

The formidable Josephine Gordon has a combined five chances at the all-weather venues to crown her annus mirabilis by securing the one victory required to become just the second female rider after Hayley Turner to complete a calendar-year century of winners in Britain.

There would be absolutely nothing phoney about that.