Turf Talk: National Hunt season cranks up another gear as A Plus Tard heads to Haydock

The National Hunt season cranks up another gear on Saturday with the reappearance of the Cheltenham Gold Cup winner A Plus Tard in the Betfair Chase at Haydock.

Unfortunately, only five horses have been declared for this race worth £112,000 to the winner. A Plus Tard was a facile 22-length winner of this race last year and looks to have only Protektorat to worry about.

Dan Skelton’s seven-year-old was 17 lengths behind A Plus Tard in the Gold Cup in March, but the yard have hit form so he may make a race of it.

Two other stars are making their seasonal debuts at Ascot, but like A Plus Tard will start at very short odds. Constitutional Hill is the leading English hope for the Champion Hurdle and he looks our best chance of toppling Honeysuckle from her perch.

L’Homme Presse was very impressive winning at the Festival and he is the lowest priced English horse in the betting for the Cheltenham Gold Cup. A treble on these three ‘shorties’ might be the best play as they all look unopposable.

There are better betting opportunities at Haydock with Might I and Houston Texas. The former has decent form behind the aforementioned Constitutional Hill and could be ‘thrown-in’ at the weights on his handicap debut in the Stayers Hurdle.

Houston Texas has won his last three races at Carlisle in the style of a promising young stayer and he only has a featherweight to carry in the Betfair Handicap Chase.

Nicky Richards trains Houston Texas and he could also win the third race on the card with Findthetime. Champion jockey Brian Hughes has won three times on this six-year-old and takes the reins again.

Harry Fry could be another with a chance of doubling up. He trains Might I and also saddles Boothill in the Hurst Park Chase at Ascot.

This two-mile trip looks ideal after he failed to stay at Galway.

Garlick’s Goodies: Saturday Haydock 1:15 – Findthetime; 2:25 – Might I; 3:35 – Houston Texas; Ascot 3:15 – Boothill.