CUE Card and Coneygree are due to clash in next Saturday’s Grade 1 Betfair Chase at Haydock. There is a £1 million bonus on offer for connections of any horse who wins this race, the King George VI Chase and the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Cue Card won the first two legs last year before falling at Cheltenham when travelling well.

Coneygree came through a racecourse gallop at Haydock this week. Partnered by his regular race rider Nico de Boinville, the 2015 Gold Cup hero worked over two miles with two stablemates helping him out. Connections of the Mark Bradstock-trained nine-year-old were delighted with the exercise as Coneygree showed he has completely recovered from injury that has kept him off the track since last November.

“We are all very excited, he was great,” said Bradstock’s wife and assistant, Sara following the 350-mile round trip from their Oxfordshire base. “We took him all the way to Haydock because we’d been desperate to get him on some grass and down here it would all be too fast.

“They very kindly said he could gallop there. He went two miles, the first mile and a half with a young horse and then, when he got tired, old Carruthers jumped in with him. Nico rode Coneygree then hot-footed it to Exeter where he had a winner, so he’s had a good day.

“The Betfair is where we are trying to go. They had beautiful ground there today and were kind enough to let us go there, but they will need some more rain or else it will get dry. I’m hopeful they will and that it will be okay.”

Cue Card goes to Haydock with a recent run under his belt, having finished third in the Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby.

The Charlie Hall winner Irish Cavalier is anoher Betfair Chase contender, along with Silviniaco Conti, Blaklion and Seeyouatmidnight.

The Paul Nicholls-trained Silviniaco Conti was no match for Valseur Lido at Down Royal last weekend but he still satisfied connections on his first outing since April. He won the Betfair Chase in 2012 and 2014. Nicholls said: “Noel Fehily was delighted with Conti. He now heads for the Betfair Chase.”