THE BETFAIR CHASE 19 NOVEMBER 2022
Early-season highlights don’t come much bigger than the Betfair Chase at Haydock Park, and last year’s renewal was no exception. Graham Clark looks at what makes the race so important… BETFAIR CHASE
I n a sport that celebrates its rich heritage and stages prestigious races dating back centuries, it is rare to find a contest that feels so established while being less than 20 years old. The Betfair Chase was only established in 2005, yet the three miles and one furlong race attracts the best staying chasers in training and is often viewed as the first step towards the holy grail that is the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup. Britain’s first Grade One contest of the season and the first leg of The Jockey Club Chase Triple Crown, it also boasts a roll of honour that underlines just why it has rapidly achieved such status in the Jump racing calendar. Household names to have won the race include three-time winners Cue Card, trained by Colin Tizzard, who won the race in 2013, 2015 and 2016, and Bristol De Mai from the Nigel Twiston-Davies yard, who was successful in 2017, 2018
said that no Irish horse had won it, which I didn’t know at the time, so my hope started to dissipate! “We had him right and ready for it and everyone at home was happy with him. He jumped well, Rachael was brilliant on him and it all seemed to fall right. “It was really a bit of a ‘wow’ moment when he went on after the third last. He was so impressive. It was a fantastic race to win. We were just coming out of Covid and it was great the crowds were back.” This year’s renewal of the Betfair Chase will take place on Saturday 19 November and de Bromhead is already counting down the days until he can bring A Plus Tard back to the Merseyside track. He added: “I think we are all very keen to come back and have a go at the race again. If we can turn him into a multiple winner, that would be incredible, so we are certainly aiming towards the Betfair Chase in November.”
and 2020. However, one stands out above all – the late, great Paul Nicholls-trained Kauto Star, who triumphed four times in 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010. With time on his side, there is every chance last season’s winner, A Plus Tard, could go on to match such exploits, especially after winning the 2022 Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup in March with jockey Rachael Blackmore. For trainer Henry de Bromhead, A Plus Tard’s 22-length Betfair Chase victory remains one of the ‘wow’ moments of last season, and he says: “It was in the April after he came second in the Gold Cup that the Betfair Chase came on to the radar. “It is a Grade One and one of the top staying chases of the year. We are always looking for left-handed tracks to run him on and it was obvious to go there for it. “I was hopeful enough until I got there. Then, within about an hour of being there, I’d say every second person I met
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