Full Marks Predicted for A Plus Tard in Saturday’s Betfair Chase
Author:
Roy Brindley
Each-way betting options on Saturday’s major races are sparse as the cards from Ascot and Haydock have attracted disappointingly low numbers. The day’s feature contest, the Betfair Chase at Haydock, boasts just five runners. Thankfully, they represent some of the most popular horses in training.
A Plus Tard is strongly fancied to land the Grade-1 Betfair Chase for a second year. @GettyImages
With an exceptional record in this valuable race, Bristol De Mai has a huge following. The winner of the three-mile one-furlong contest in 2017, 2018 and 2020, the 11-time winner also finished second in the 2019 rendition.
Frodon – 17 times a winner from 37 chase starts – is another darling of the racing public. This flashy front-running veteran won the 2019 Ryanair Chase at the Cheltenham Festival and the 2020 King George Chase under Bryony Frost. Two weeks ago, the Paul Nicholls-trained horse rolled back the years to land Wincanton’s Badger Beer Chase.
Another A-Plus Report Predicted for Blackmore Mount
However, with younger legs, A Plus Tard is strongly fancied to win the Grade-1 Betfair Chase for a second time. Under the excellent Rachael Blackmore, the eight-year-old was imperious in this contest 12 months ago. The best horse racing betting sites quote his chances of doubling up at 4/6.
In March Henry De Bromhead’s charge won the Cheltenham Gold Cup by 15 lengths. A superb jumper, who has never been out of the frame in his 14 chase starts, A Plus Tard would appear to have only the seven-year-old Protektorat to contend with.
A Grade-1 winning novice chaser, Protektorat probably has his best years ahead of him. Nevertheless, he has 17 lengths to find with A Plus Tard on Gold Cup form – and 16 pounds on official handicap ratings. While expecting him to reduce the deficit, beating our selection at this stage of his career is probably too much of an ask.
Hill Has a Straightforward Task
Five of Ascot’s Saturday races feature six runners or less. Sadly, the four opponents Constitution Hill will face in the Coral Hurdle (due off at 2.40 pm), are unlikely to give the 1/4 favorite much of a battle. The massively exciting five-year-old is unbeaten in three hurdle starts and signed off last season with a 22-length trouncing of his rivals in Cheltenham’s Supreme Novice Hurdle.
Constitution Hill and Nico de Boinville cannot be opposed at Ascot on Saturday. @GettyImages
If you are looking for a banker selection in multiple bets, look no further than Constitution Hill. And it is tempting to add a third odds-on shot into our slip. L’Homme Presse – a Grade-1 novice chase winner at the Cheltenham Festival – looks a penalty kick in Ascot’s 2.05 pm.
Nicholls Stable Is White Hot
However, Thyme White is a value selection in Ascot’s 3.15 pm. Trainer Paul Nicholls has his chasers in excellent form, and his 77 runners in this sphere have produced 29 winners this season. It represents a 38 percent strike rate.
Thyme White contributed to that tally when winning over course and distance three weeks ago. The French-bred has been raised seven pounds in the handicap for that victory. But such was the ease of his success, further improvement looks inevitable.
Unquestionably, this is a hot race with most runners hailing from a top jumps-racing stable. But this strength and depth mean Thyme White is trading as an attractive 9/2 shot at the best online betting sites. In a field of nine runners, these odds frame him nicely as an each-way betting proposition.
Saturday’s Best Bets
A Plus Tard 3.00 pm Haydock
Constitution Hill 2.40 pm Ascot
Thyme White 3.15 pm Ascot
