Royale Pagaille, a Haydock specialist who thrives in the mud, stayed on strongest of all from the final fence to land the Grade One Betfair Chase for the second year running here.
The first Grade One contest of the winter campaign was a compelling advertisement for staying chasers, as a mud-spattered Grey Dawning, perhaps Britain’s best hope for a Gold Cup success at Cheltenham in March, came with what looked to be a winning challenge at the last fence. Charlie Deutsch on Royale Pagaille, though, dug deep again after being headed and fought back to lead well inside the final furlong before crossing the line two lengths ahead.
“You always want that sort of head-to-head, fantastic finish,” Rich Ricci, the winner’s owner, said. “That’s what makes the sport so great and this fella, he’s not a Gold Cup horse maybe, but he tries and he loves this course. When he got passed, I thought, fine, we’re going to be second, but to come back and win is incredible.”
In Ireland, there was a minor surprise in the Grade One Morgiana Hurdle as Brighterdaysahead rallied on the run-in and see off the 4-9 favourite and reigning champion over hurdles, State Man.
Brighterdaysahead was cut to around 6-1 for the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham in March, while State Man is a 4-1 shot to retain his title and Lossiemouth, who was a late absentee from Saturday’s race with a stone bruise, heads the list at 5-2.
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