Betfair Chase

J

JamesRB

Senior Jockey
Joined
Mar 7, 2012
Messages
2,663
Last year's winner Cue Card heads a select list of nine horses confirmed for the Betfair Chase at Haydock on Saturday

Colin Tizzard's stable star could renew rivalry with Dynaste and Silviniaco Conti, a respective second and third in the Grade One 12 months ago.

Cue Card has had the benefit of a seasonal reappearance in the Haldon Gold Cup at Exeter, as has the Paul Nicholls-trained Silviniaco Conti, who ran in the Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby.

The talented pair are expected to improve for their preps in which both horses were beaten.

On the other hand, the David Pipe-trained Dynaste has not raced since finishing second to Silviniaco Conti in the Betfred Bowl at Aintree in April.

Menorah, who had the latter back in fifth in the Charlie Hall, could try to continue Philip Hobbs' tremendous run of form.

Other horses from the Wetherby race in at Haydock are runner-up Taquin Du Seuil, from Jonjo O'Neill's yard, fourth-placed Medermit, trained by Alan King, and the seventh and last home, David Bridgwater's The Giant Bolster.

The Nigel Twiston-Davies-trained Double Ross and Kim Bailey's Harry Topper complete the list of possibles.
Click to expand...

poor harry topper has no chance if it's gonna be run over 2m7f again

in all seriousness surely they won't bodge this up again given the amount of scrutiny over last years debacle.

last years front 3 all around the 7/2 mark atm but taquin (if soft) and menorah (if good) seem interesting at better prices.
 
JamesRB said:
poor harry topper has no chance if it's gonna be run over 2m7f again

in all seriousness surely they won't bodge this up again given the amount of scrutiny over last years debacle.
Click to expand...

It's over the same 3m If, so there's every chance. :rolleyes:
Pace would be a worry; I'd expect Silviniaco to force it from some way out if he's to prevail in this field.
 
Katkeau in the fixed brush hurdles race interests me at the weights. Just hoping he will be declared now as I fancy him to follow up on his impressive run on Saturday. Pipe's record in this race is pretty good if memory serves me right.
 
Impossible to bet without knowing the distance, would fancy CC over 2m7f again but they might run it over the right distance...


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
I took 5s on Sil Conti yesterday. Too much of an over-reaction from his Wetherby run.
 
Last edited:
I'd go along wih that, too.
The steady pace he set in the Charlie Hall, and the cloud PN's horses were under at the time, suggests it was little more tthan a warm-up for this. 5's has long gone though, so I'll wait & see the field and the likely pace before putting the dosh down.
 
DannyB said:
Katkeau in the fixed brush hurdles race interests me at the weights. Just hoping he will be declared now as I fancy him to follow up on his impressive run on Saturday. Pipe's record in this race is pretty good if memory serves me right.
Click to expand...

Going well when came down last year' but this is a significantly better contest.
Volnay De Thaix looks to have been plotted for this, won a good race turning handsprings last week, likely to improve both for the run and this extra trip, and (imo) looks a rock solid bet at the current 6/1.
 
reet hard said:
Going well when came down last year' but this is a significantly better contest.
Volnay De Thaix looks to have been plotted for this, won a good race turning handsprings last week, likely to improve both for the run and this extra trip, and (imo) looks a rock solid bet at the current 6/1.
Click to expand...

Volnay De Thaix - Agreed.
 
Euronymous said:
I took 5s on Sil Conti yesterday. Too much of an over-reaction from his Wetherby run.
Click to expand...

I missed the 5's but I'm on Silviniaco Conti too. I think Dynaste will surely need the run after such a break and I have some doubts at the top level anyway. Cue Card is a horse I can never get right. If this is a proper stamina test (ideally over the proper distance) then I'd expect SC to come out on top. I think he'll reverse Wetherby form with Menorah and plenty of the others just don't seem good enough.
 
BennyB said:
Impossible to bet without knowing the distance, would fancy CC over 2m7f again but they might run it over the right distance...


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

The signs are that it will be over exactly the same circuit as last year, incredibly?

Race distances are increased, as a result of rail configuration as follows: Race 1 Abt 2m: add 36yds; Race 2 3m abt 5f: add 72 yds; Race 3 2m abt 4f: add 45yds; Race 4 Abt 2m: add 50yds; Race 5 Abt 3m: add 72yds; Races 6 & 7 3m abt 1f: no change.

It would seem that the extension on the bottom bend adds 36 yds per circuit (not the 120 KT claimed last year) but if they start the race from the same place (about 80 yds forward, imo) that negates any addition to the 3m Chase distance.
Clearly Cue Card would be favoured again, particularly on ground the going stick shows to be appreciably quicker than last year, but you can't trust the Haydock executive, and I wouldn't be going near the race.
 
It's astonishing that Haydock and the BHA could allow this to happen so soon after the Wetherby fiasco
 
Does anyone really think SC needs this sort of test?.its pretty clear that he needs more than 2m7..so its no use backing him at that trip...we know before the race its a farce re the distance so there will be no surprise when SC gets beat

we have said this before...at Haydock..you neither know the going or actual distance they run over..the track seems to have more configurations than Longchamp..its basically a cross between Hampton Course maze & the Bermuda Triangle
 
Last edited:
I was going to leave this race alone, because of the various doubts about those at the head of the market, but it's for exactly that reason that there may be an angle.

Of those at the head of the market, in my opinion these are the doubts:-

Silviniaco Conti - His run at Wetherby was well below par. That can be explained by the Nicholls string needing a run and he did appear to blow up, but he was also below par in the Gold Cup, and as a consequence he's no value in the market. This is more contentious, but I believe it's possible to pick holes in his previous Grade 1 wins.

Cue Card - A below par run at Exeter after an injury layoff means you'd want him to prove he can get back to his best form otherwise he'll be difficult to place this season. He certainly didn't show the same spark as he did when using Exeter as a prep last year, and Tizzard will have had to work much harder to get him to the same level of form. And will he do that off an injury with one eye on Kempton?

Menorah - Talented on his day but is quirky and just as likely to run a stinker. Plus he'll hate the ground.

Dynaste - Despite winning the Ryanair he's never been anywhere near as good as SC and CC, and against this level of opposition he usually places rather than wins making 7//2 a totally unappealing

Taquin de Seuil - Wasn't far away at Wetherby and remains unexposed but his 5/1 looks way too short for Jonjo's 3rd string Gold Cup/2nd string Ryanair horse, despite doubts about others.

Harry Topper - Will love the ground, but he regularly makes mistakes, and has never really shown enough to suggest he should take a hand. He'll either make a bad mistake or plug on the end and may stay on to beat horses not at their best.

Medermit and The Giant Bolster - No need for explanations. Just no!

So that leaves me one by default. Double Ross shouldn't be winning this. However he was close up in the Charlie Hall, only 4 lengths behind Menorah and a neck behind TDS to finish 3rd, a long way ahead of Silviniaco Conti. The soft ground is worth more than 4 lengths with Menorah, and he has a 1lb weight pull with Taquin de Seuil. So with the doubts about Silviniaco Conti and Cue Card, the fact his best form is on winter ground, and the possibility that he's improving at a rate, and has now shown he can mix it at this level, 25/1 is a huge each way price.

Selection: Double Ross 25/1 ew
 
Last edited:
Good summary

i just still couldn't back jonjos right now. Menorah has won on heavy and it's not that tomorrow. He won so well last time but who knows with this one? 10s isn't bad is it
 
They will certainly know what to expect from Cue Card but whether they can do anything about it or not is another matter.

On the down side Tizzard, like today claimed he was spot on last time. Could be he had this in mind and left plenty to work or could be he hasn't fully recovered from last seasons set back and he's wishful thinking.

I really dislike S. Conti which may be to my cost but I think he's a monkey but then it is Saturday and PN loves his Saturdays. Gawd only knows how he will run.

Like Clive I couldn't back Jonjo's, at least not in this class on this course. If it were Carlisle ot Kelso where stamina and grit counted yes but not round here.

I actually had a tenner on Menorah last time. He is one classy individual with bags of talent but totally untrustworthy.

That leaves Dynaste who has the least amount of negatives and this could be his day.

Dynaste

Saver: Menorah
 
I am firmly in the Taquin Du Seuil camp.

This horse has a great record on slow ground..take out Newton Abbot where it wasn't that slow..on very slow ground has won 4 times from 5 losing out to Oscar Whisky narrowly.

For a horse that does well at this time of year..has been a little softly softly...looks to have been brought along with this race as a real target..whereas yes the others would like to pick it up along the way ...this one looks like a typical Jonjo prep job..cheek pieces added.
 
Back
Top