Tom George enters Nacarat for Betfair Chase
The Betfair Chase has drawn a total of 19 entries headed by the last three winners of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, Kauto Star, Denman and Imperial Commander.
Nigel Twiston-Davies has already pointed Imperial Commander, who won last season’s Gold Cup by seven lengths, to Haydock Park although Paul Nicholls has not necessarily confirmed either Denman or Kauto Star, a three-time winner of the Betfair.
Among the pretenders to the elite is Nacarat, who swept aside some high-class rivals to win the Grade Two Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby on Saturday. That victory, his first since the Racing Post Chase triumph at Kempton Park in 2009, went a long way to vindicating the belief of Nacarat’s trainer, Tom George.
Nacarat had a series of niggling problems, especially with his shoulders, last season that hampered him but George is confident that the nine-year-old is in peak condition and can be a force in Grade One company, with both the Betfair Chase and the King George VI Chase on his agenda.
“We have to see how Nacarat is before committing to the Betfair Chase but it is a possibility at this stage,” George said. “And the initial impression is that he couldn’t have come out of the race at Wetherby any better. The vet and the physio have both been to see him and he trotted up looking like a four-year-old this morning, not like a nine-year-old. He looks as good today as he did the day before he ran at Wetherby, which is very encouraging.
“The other side of it is that we have to see how he is over the next three weeks. Physically, he is better today than he was at any stage last year. He had a few things that needed to be put right with him but he looks great this year.”
Having got Nacarat on an even keel, George is mindful of how he plays the grey through the season and will not be looking to risk him on the worst of the winter’s ground. “His participation in the Betfair Chase will also depend on the ground. He goes on good to soft and soft ground, but he wouldn’t want it heavy, so we will see how he is and what the ground is like. If it comes up good ground, it would play into our hands.”
Reviewing the Charlie Hall, in which Nacarat beat The Tother One by four lengths, George believes he could have won even more easily. “Nacarat made a blunder at the third-last in the Charlie Hall but the reason he made that mistake was that he quickened into it and met the fence a bit quicker than he was ready for.
“If he hadn’t made that mistake, he wouldn’t have come off the bridle - like when he won the Racing Post Chase.”
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