Long run heads Betfair Chase 19

A superb entry of 19 has been received for the £200,000 Grade One Betfair Chase (3.05pm), highlight of the Betfair Chase meeting at Haydock Park on Friday and Saturday, November 18 & 19.

The three-mile contest, run on the second day, has firmly established itself as the first major test of the season for the best staying chasers and this year’s outstanding Cheltenham Gold Cup victor Long Run is set to have his first start of the new campaign in the feature race of the Haydock’s jump season.

Nicky Henderson’s charge cemented his reputation as a chaser of the highest order last season with stunning victories in the King George VI Chase at Kempton and at the Cheltenham Festival.

In an ominous sign to his opposition, Henderson reported that the six-year-old had grown “considerably bigger” over the summer break when he entertained members of the media at a stable visit organised by Haydock Park on Thursday, October 27.

The chief danger to Long Run in the Betfair Chase could come from one of the great chasers, Kauto Star, who has made the Betfair Chase his own in recent years with three victories in 2006, 2007 and 2009.

The Paul Nicholls-trained 11-year-old has posted an incredible 14 Grade One wins in a glittering career that has included four King George VI Chases and two Cheltenham Gold Cups. He warmed up for the Betfair Chase with a racecourse gallop at Exeter yesterday, Tuesday, November 1.

His owner Clive Smith reported: “It looks as though this year’s Betfair Chase is going to be a very good race and I am looking forward to seeing Kauto Star return to Haydock.

“We gave him a racecourse gallop at Wincanton before the Gold Cup last season and he had another spin at Exeter yesterday.

“The plan is that we are going to run him in the Betfair Chase and then everything will come out regarding his future after Haydock. He could be retired instantly, he could have another run or he might be around for another go at the Gold Cup.

“There are so many factors and he is not the oldest horse in training. See More Business was third in the Cheltenham Gold Cup as a 12-year-old and Kauto Star is in great shape.

“If any horse is going to be feeling pretty good as an 11-year-old it is Kauto Star because he is quite an exceptional horse. He is very athletic, very agile and we know that he is very well in himself. We know that he enjoys what he does.

“It’s a strong entry for the Betfair Chase and I would imagine that there will be eight or nine runners lining up and we will be taking on some good, young chasers, so it will be very interesting.

“He certainly doesn’t have to win the Betfair Chase to race on. If he is beaten by 20 lengths and looks fed up, then we will call it a day but, if he is right there with them and he is only beaten by four or five lengths, then it could show that he is still in fine fettle.“

Kauto Star made four appearances last term, starting with a four-length success in the Down Royal Champion Chase in November. He followed up that victory by coming home third behind Long Run in the King George VI Chase at Kempton in January, after which he was found to be suffering a low-grade infection.

The Village Star gelding bounced back to form with a gallant third to Long Run in the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March before ending his season with a disappointing effort in the Grade One Punchestown Gold Cup on May 4, when he was pulled up.

Smith continued: “I was pleased with Kauto Star last season. He won at Down Royal and ran very well in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. It was just a shame about the King George VI Chase as, with a bit of luck, I think that it would have been a different race.

“Punchestown was just a race too many for him - he had nearly two months extra training for that race and it was just too much for him.

“I thought that he was as good as he could have been at Cheltenham. Denman had been helped enormously by a breathing operation at the start of the season - we almost thought about the same for Kauto Star - and it seemed to make a bit of difference. It’s usually a good race between the pair around Cheltenham and Denman was a little ahead of us.

“Sam Waley-Cohen gave Long Run a superb ride at Cheltenham. When Long Run was coming down the hill from the third last fence, he was in behind, hitting fences, and you were starting to wonder whether he was going to get into the race. Sam threw everything at the horse and he was fantastic. I thought that he rode the race of the season.”

Nicholls has also entered dual Grade One winner What A Friend, part-owned by Sir Alex Ferguson, and Noland, successful in the 2008 Grade One John Durkan Memorial Chase at Punchestown, plus the unexposed five-year-old Mon Parrain, an emphatic winner of a Sandown handicap chase on his British debut in March.

Diamond Harry was forced to miss his first start for 11 months in the Grade Two Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby on Saturday with slight lameness but the Nick Williams-trained chaser, a brilliant winner of the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury last season, has triumphed on both his previous visits to Haydock.

The Paul Webber-trained Time For Rupert did run in the Charlie Hall Chase, going down by three and a half lengths to Weird Al, who made an impressive debut for his new handler Donald McCain. Last season’s Grade One Aintree Bowl victor Nacarat, from the stable of Tom George, also lined up in the same race as he came home fourth.

Dual Ryanair Chase victor Albertas Run could step back to three miles for the first time since disappointing behind Long Run in last season’s King George VI Chase. The Jonjo O’Neill-trained 10-year-old posted a length verdict over Pure Faith, representing Peter Bowen, in the Grade Two Old Roan Chase on his seasonal return at Aintree on October 22.

The Ferdy Murphy-trained Kalahari King and Rubi Light, from the stable of Robbie Hennessy, filled the places behind Albertas Run at this year’s Cheltenham Festival, while the Neil Mulholland-trained Midnight Chase also ran an excellent race in defeat at Prestbury Park in March when coming home fifth in the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Grand Crus has yet to jump a fence in public but the David Pipe-trained six-year-old could be thrown in at the deep end following a superb campaign over the smaller obstacles last term that included a scintillating display in the Betfair.com/paulnicholls “Fixed Brush” Handicap Hurdle at last year’s Betfair Chase meeting.

The entry is completed by Planet Of Sound, who triumphed for Philip Hobbs in the Grade One Punchestown Gold Cup in April, 2010, the James Ewart-trained Sa Suffit, last season’s Grade One RSA Chase third Wayward Prince, who is trained by Ian Williams and Irish Grade Two scorer Roberto Goldback, representing Dessie Hughes.

“Long Run has the Betfair Chase at his mercy on our figures, despite what Weird Al did in last Saturday’s Charlie Hall on his first start for Donald McCain,” said Timeform’s jumps editor Dan Barber.

“Anyone looking for a chink in his armour may point to his defeat at Cheltenham first time up last season, but anything close to a repetition of his subsequent King George or Cheltenham Gold Cup performances will almost certainly be good enough.

“In fact, it’s hard to see him getting beaten all season.”

The Betfair Chase is the highlight of the Betfair Chase meeting, which is run over two days for the first time this year on Friday, November 18 and Saturday, November 19.

Saturday’s card includes the £75,000 Betfair.com/paulnicholls “Fixed Brush” Handicap Hurdle (2.30pm). Subsequent Hennessy Gold Cup first and second, Diamond Harry and Burton Port, fought out the finish to the 2009 renewal, while last year’s contest was won in devastating fashion by Grands Crus, who subsequently went on to chase home Big Buck’s in the Grade One Ladbrokes World Hurdle at The Cheltenham Festival.

Racing gets underway at 12.15pm with the two-mile £40,000 Betfair Hurdle, a rare chance for four-year-olds to race against each other before taking on seasoned older opposition later in the campaign. Future Champion Hurdle winner Binocular took the spoils in 2008, while last year’s winner Carlito Brigante went on to success at this year’s Cheltenham Festival with victory in the Coral Cup.

A seven-race card also has the £35,000 Listen To Timeform Radio Handicap Hurdle (12.50pm) over two and a half miles, and the two-mile £7,000 Betfair Hairy Mo Standard Open National Hunt Flat Race (1.25pm), which went the way of subsequent dual Grade One-winning hurdler Peddlers Cross in 2009.

The £25,000 timeform.betfair.com On Your Smartphone Handicap Chase (2.00pm) over three and a half miles and the three-mile £30,000 Betfair Multiples Handicap Chase (3.40pm) complete the action.

Friday’s six races include the two-mile £20,000 Betfair Graduation Chase (1.20pm), the £25,000 Junior Betfair Novices’ Chase (1.55pm) over two miles and six furlongs plus the £17,500 Listed timeform.betfair.com Novices’ Hurdle (2.30pm), over two miles.

THE BETFAIR CHASE

Class 1, Group 1, £200,000 Total Prize Fund. 3.05pm, Haydock Park, Saturday, November 19, 2011. For 5yo , three miles. Weights: 11st 7lb. Allowances: mares 7lb. Entries closed November 1, entries revealed November 2 (19 entries). Five-day confirmation stage & £10,000 supplementary entry stage Monday, November 14, final declaration stage, 10.00am, Thursday, November 17. Form figures supplied by Weatherbys & are correct up to & including the racing of Monday, October 31.

Form Horse Age Owner Trainer

TIMEFORM RATINGS FOR SELECTED RUNNERS:

LONG RUN 182

KAUTO STAR 168

WEIRD AL 168

WHAT A FRIEND 166

DIAMOND HARRY 165P

ALBERTAS RUN 165

KALAHARI KING 164

TIME FOR RUPERT 162P

NACARAT 161

MIDNIGHT CHASE 160