2022 Betfair Chase News - Key quotes on this year's Haydock contenders

He seems in great form, he’s working really well. Rachael (Blackmore) schooled him this morning and he jumped really well so all seems good at the moment.

Rachael gets a great tune out of him, they were brilliant last year in the Gold Cup so we’re looking forward to Saturday and hopefully we’ll have a bit of luck and everything will take care of itself after that.

He seems to be pretty adaptable regarding the ground and he’s lovely to have around, very laid back and very straightforward.

I always think they are all to fear. Bristol De Mai has won it however many times (three) and I can’t quite believe the price Frodon is when you think what he has achieved. It’s a Grade One so I’m afraid of them all. Obviously Protektorat ran well in the Gold Cup also.

I haven’t given much thought to tactics yet, and that is more Rachael’s department. From my point of view the less horses to beat the better! We just want to get him there in good shape.

When you are only running these horses three or four times a year you want these runs to count so we hope he’s as well as he was last year.

Hopefully the plan after this will be Leopardstown at Christmas and then the Cheltenham Festival in March. I think that makes sense as obviously, he has the preference for going left so they are the obvious races for him.

I think he’s just strengthened and matured. Other than that it’s hard to give any other reason, maybe Rachael is riding him differently but not a whole lot. He just seemed to really find himself last year and he’s kept on improving.

Physically he looks an even stronger horse again, but Saturday will tell us an awful lot.”

Protektorat is prepared and needs to be. We know we have to make up ground with A Plus Tard but he is a young horse and he has not had many tries at the three-mile trip. 

Hopefully the track will be more suitable for him, although you cannot say Cheltenham doesn't suit him. We have to give it a go. If they are ready, well and prepared properly I won't duck it. We will always do that as long as we get the best build up.'

In the Gold Cup, to be fair to him, it would have been very easy to give up. You probably saw at Aintree just how hard he tried to maintain that place (at Cheltenham), he was tired and if I had my time again I probably wouldn’t have run him but he told us at home that he was happy and healthy so we got on with it. He just wasn’t able to run anything like his best, but he’s a tough customer.

One reason to be hopeful is that he hasn’t been over-raced around three miles. And he’s still a young horse so should be improving this year. Now, if that gap was three lengths, then I’d be saying I might have a chance, but it’s more than that so I’m realistic.

We also re-did his palate, he had his wind done properly some time ago (before winning at Aintree in April 2021), but we’ve done his palate again during the summer. You’d rather have them done, these horses go to an extremely high level of output when they race and you need everything in your favour.

We’re bullish about our chances and we know we’re going to go there and run a big race, but we know we’re not going to start favourite. And if A Plus Tard beats us we can’t hardly claim it was a surprise. If we’re beaten we’ll dust ourselves down and go again.

I’d love to run him in the Cotswold Chase, three miles and one around there on testing ground would be perfect.

He is just the most honest horse and I’m lucky to have a great association with him.

His record at Haydock is second to none. I don’t think there is a horse at Haydock that has ever run around there that has the form he has. His form is very strong. It is like a home game for him. The ground is coming in his favour.

The great thing about Bristol is he has been there done it and worn the T-shirt. He is a very good horse. I think Protektorat has to prove it a little bit, but I fear all those horses as they are all Grade One horses and they deserve to be there.

A Plus Tard’s form is there and it is absolutely rock solid. He is a very good horse. I don’t know whether we can beat him or not but we are going to put in a much different performance this year to what we did last year. He is a younger horse and his CV says it all that he is a very good horse.

It will be difficult to beat him but every horse can have an off day and if A Plus Tard does have an off day, I can guarantee we will be there to capitalise on it.

The great thing with my lad is that he is tried and tested. He is a warrior. Every time he goes to a race track he gives you everything.

It would be right up there to win four Betfair Chases. It would be astonishing. We will keep dreaming. We believe we are going there with a great chance.

I’d love to see it as the crowd at Haydock have really warmed to Bristol. He gets such a huge reception even walking around the parade ring before the race.

It really does bring a tear to your eye. If he did manage to do it I think it would properly lift the roof of Haydock racecourse.

The Betfair Chase last year was a disaster as the ground was too quick, but this year hopefully with the rain they have had over the last 24 to 48 hours, and there is more rain coming up there, I’m very much looking forward to it. I am genuinely really excited.

Last year was a write-off from the moment I walked out on to the track. He never got into a rhythm. When it is that quick ground he doesn’t enjoy it. I just wanted to look after the horse because he has been a wonderful horse to us and he owes us nothing.

Since then he has come out he has probably run nearly two of his career bests in the conditions chase at Lingfield and in the Grand National Trial at Haydock Park giving all that weight away.

He has had a brilliant pre-season so far. He has been very good and enthusiastic. His schooling has been very good. His work has been extremely good and he has all the enthusiasm he had last season.

He is always a horse that is very good when fresh. He is a horse that always gives maximum effort and that takes a bit of time to get over it. He just a very good horse when he is fresh and well.

I was delighted with his run in the Charlie Hall as for the first time he galloped through the line. We were just guessing a bit with that sort of trip before. He ran well in the Denman and that was on goodish ground and that was a different sort of race. I was glad he galloped through the line as it proved to me that he gets the trip nicely.

On ratings we are a bit behind the likes of A Plus Tard and Protektorat, but for most of them it is their first runs of the season. He seems to have come out of his race at Wetherby really well and there is some good prize money to pick up with him.

If he can run well, and if there are chinks in any of the others, he could end up picking up some good prize money. We have had a run so we won’t lack any match fitness.

Haydock is his type of track and he seems to run well on those flat tracks. For a lot of these horses it is their first target with the view to a King George VI Chase or Gold Cup later on so they are not fully gunned where as we go in there with a run under our belt.

He is about 10lbs behind them – Cue Card and Lostinstranslation – on official ratings going into this but he is a progressive horse that improved a stone last season. He has still got to improve a bit to shake them up, but now he is seeing this trip out well there is no saying that he won’t run well.

If we run to the Wetherby form hopefully we can nick a bit of prize money. The horse has come out of his last race well and I’m excited about him taking his chance. I’d love to see him improve again and we can take him to some big days through the season as his owners Jon (Romans) and Terry (Warner) have been big supporters of the yard.

Everybody wants to win but if you can pick up decent prize money with a horse on the way it is all good.

He was mad fresh on Monday and Bryony (Frost) said he feels good. So long as the ground doesn't go heavy, I'd say he's fit and well and will probably take his chance. I've got to discuss it with Mr Vogt [owner], but I'd say there's a fair chance he'll run.

His run at Wincanton was great, but that was a totally different race. He's taking on the Gold Cup winner, who looks impossible to beat, and a good horse in Protektorat, but who knows in racing. If he runs well, he might pick up good prize-money – he won't do that standing in his box. If you're not in it, you can't win it.

If we don't run him, we're waiting for the Kempton Christmas Festival. He's a 16-1 shot for the King George and he can still go there if he runs on Saturday. He's fit, well and healthy, so why not? I'd say at the moment we're leaning towards running him because he appears to be very well.