Bristol De Mai eyes million pound bonus at King George Chase
BySportsbeat
Published 26/12/2017 at 10:59 GMT
Nigel Twiston-Davies counted Triple Crown hopeful Bristol De Mai among the best he has ever trained ahead of the King George IV Chase at Kempton.
Eurosport
Image credit: Eurosport
After securing the first-leg of the Jockey Club's £1million bonus with his 57-length victory in the Betfair Chase at Haydock, the grey is now officially Britain's highest-rated steeplechaser.
Twiston-Davies has already singled out the six-year-old as a potential Gold Cup winner in March.
"We aren't doing anything different this season, but he's going over further now and is showing just how good he is," he told The Times.
"If all goes well at Kempton he should confirm he's a proper Gold Cup horse."
Standing in the way of victory in the King George is market rival Might Bite, who has emerged as the favourite for the Boxing Day showpiece.
Trained by rival Nicky Henderson, the eight-year-old has all the makings of a great horse, but is prone to a mishap, such as his attempt to throw the RSA Chase at the Cheltenham Festival earlier this year.
The four-time Champion Trainer drew a number of contrasts between himself and his maverick runner, who won comfortably at Sandown last time out.
"He's naturally talented. I'm naturally not talented. He is brave, I'm not very brave. I'm exactly the opposite," Henderson told The Guardian.
"He's very good-looking- that's where the similarity ends with me. He's a real sexy horse with a very sexy name.
"We've got to get through the King George first. But if he wins the King George then the Gold Cup will become the objective."
Might Bite will be joined by stable-mate Whisper, who has been given the green-light by connections and has already lost to his companion twice.
The absence of Outlander and Disko has opened up the field for Colin Tizzard, whose two entries could challenge the top two.
Last year's outstanding winner Thistlecrack could be a contender but, having only raced twice since then, may struggle to match the proven stayers.
Tingle Creek runner-up Fox Norton will be stepping up a trip at Kempton and looks as though he may be better-suited to the distance.
Boxing Day will also be a good opportunity for Nick Williams' Tea For Two to reverse form with his rivals, after he was beaten 67 lengths by Bristol De Mai.
The rank-outsiders come in the form of Tom George's Double Shuffle and Gary Moore's Traffic Fluide, two promising chasers with hopes of sneaking a place.
Jonathan Harding/Sportsbeat 2017
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