2020 Betfair Chase Guide

The son of Flemensfirth has been a superb stable star for the yard over the last few seasons, picking up Grade One wins and mixing it with the best chasers in the sport.

The eight year old last season was fancied to run a big race in the Gold Cup and he did when finishing a close third behind dual winner Al Boum Photo and Nicky Henderson's Santini.

Before that the chaser started his season off at Carlisle when landing the Intermediate Chase in fine style which set him up perfectly for a tilt at the Betfair Chase against two time winner Bristol De Mai.

Having the run under his belt made the difference as he went on to stay on better than the Nigel Twiston-Davies horse up the straight and it saw him land his first black type event out of novice company.

He then headed to Kempton on Boxing Day for the King George VI Chase and nothing went right for him throughout the race with his jumping ultimately letting him down and he was pulled up before the finish.

Having been raced frequently before that, Tizzard then gave him some time off and he was next seen in the Gold Cup where he managed to place and overall gave a superb performance.

He is said to be in fine form ahead of his seasonal debut and he is the rightful favourite for the event, being the one to beat.

Bristol De Mai claimed the Grade One prize in both 2017 and 2018 and when going for the hat-trick last term was only seen off close home by the Cheltenham Gold Cup third Lostintranslation.

Having finished runner up in the event last term the Nigel Twiston-Davies trained runner chaser went to Cheltenham in January and again finished runner up, this time in the Grade Two Cotswald Chase behind Gold Cup second Santini.

That set him up for the Gold Cup where he was totally outclassed and if running like that he will no have much say in this field.

What makes him a contender in this event is his record in the race and if the ground turns heavy it would be a surprise to not see him be favourable in the market.

Last season the gelding started his term off over in Northern Ireland in November with Nicholls sending him into the Grade One Champion Chase at Down Royal and he finished a smart second behind Road To Respect and it worked out to be the perfect prep run ahead of the King George VI.

He went on to become a dual King George winner on Boxing Day and will looking to add a third after this race but Nicholls is very Bullish about his chances in this event, where the handler is looking to land a record breaking seventh win in the race.

His final outing of last term came in the Gold Cup at Cheltenham and it showed the course and everything about going the race did not suit him.

Said to be flying at home, Clan Des Obeaux will be looking to start his season off with a bang.

Bellshill is one of the big outsiders in the event and the 10 year old will be looking to find the form that he had under Willie Mullins, now with new trainer Sandy Thompson.

During his career the gelding has landed some big race success including the Irish Gold Cup and the Punchestown Gold Cup.

However, it looks as though his best days are now behind him and unless his now handler can get him close to that form, he should be outclassed, having not run since February when second in a Grade Three.

The final runner of the race and big outsider is the Warren Greatrex trained Keeper Hill and it looks like the nine year old has been pitched into this race more on hope than glory.

The gelding has been fairly consistent for the yard but in much lesser events than this, last winning at this meeting a year ago in a handicap event.

He finished second behind Frodon in a Grade Two at Kempton and was then outclassed when sent back over hurdles at Musselburgh.

He made his seasonal debut this term in the Charlie Hall Chase and although finishing a fair fourth of 10 runners, he was a long way behind the front three runners and will need to step up his game massively to go close here.