Bravemansgame favourite as four line-up in Betfair Chase at Haydock Park
Bravemansgame heads the betting as four are set to line-up in Saturday's Betfair Chase at Haydock Park.
Paul Nicholls' eight-year-old is set to defend his King George VI Chase crown at Kempton Park on Boxing Day – but first he will line-up on Merseyside this weekend. And he will take on last year's impressive winner Protektorat in the £200,000 Grade One feature. Bravemansgame is a best-priced 10-11 with Coral, William Hill and BetVictor amongst several firms, while Protektorat is 15-8 second favourite with Paddy Power, Betfred, BetVictor and sponsors Betfair.
Champion trainer Nicholls has won the extended 3m1f contest a record six times courtesy of Kauto Star (2006, 2007, 2009, 2011) and Silvianaco Conti (2012, 2014). And will bid for a magnificent seventh success with Bravemansgame, who also finished second to Galopin Des Champs in the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup at last season's Cheltenham Festival. Bravemansgame was beaten a length-and-three-quarters by Gentlemansgame in the Grade Two Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby on his return to action earlier this month.
Bravemansgame will have a new jockey at Haydock with Daryl Jacob set to partner him with usual pilot Harry Cobden riding at Ascot. Jacob won the Grand National for Nicholls with Neptune Collonges at Aintree Racecourse in 2012. And he has also won the Betfair Chase three times on board the Nigel Twiston-Davies' Bristol De Mai.
In opposition is Dan Skelton's Protektorat, who won the Grade One feature at the Merseyside track by 11 lengths last year. Protektorat, who is part-owned by former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, was last seen in action when he was fifth behind Willie Mullins' Galopin Des Champs in the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup in March. The
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