TODAY’S version of the Betfair Chase is going to be quite different to the Betfair Chase as we usually understand it.

Last year, Bristol De Mai sluiced through the heavy ground and beat Cue Card by 57 lengths. In 2016, Cue Card sluiced through the heavy ground and beat Coneygree by 15 lengths. In 2015, Cue Card sluiced through the soft ground and beat Silviniaco Conti by seven lengths.

There’s a common theme. Sluicing and soft or heavy ground and extended winning margins.

There will be no heavy ground today. There will be no soft ground either, and there will be no sluicing. It will be a straight shoot-out on good National Hunt ground, which may be good to soft in places.

The protagonists are there though. It’s set up like it usually is, the market revolving around two big horses (see above) with a third not far behind the front two. It is ironic that last year’s winner, Bristol De Mai, is the Dynaste of 2015, the Silviniaco Conti of 2016, the Outlander of 2017.

The top two this year don’t get any topper than Native River and Might Bite, first and second in last season’s Cheltenham Gold Cup. You can understand why Might Bite is favourite, though, in front of the Gold Cup hero. The goodish ground will bring his speed into play, goes the theory. He won the Mildmay Chase at Aintree two seasons ago on good ground. He would have won the Feltham Chase by a fence the previous December on good ground. He has pace. He might have won the Gold Cup in March had the ground been better.

That said, while you can understand why Nicky Henderson’s horse has been put in as favourite, the disparity in odds between the top two might be greater than it should be.

Native River is top class. Colin Tizzard’s horse may not have received due recognition for winning the Gold Cup in March. The ground came in his favour that day, that soft ground suits his relentless, galloping style, but we don’t know that he wouldn’t have won the Gold Cup had the ground come up like it usually does on Gold Cup day.

And it isn’t as though the Indian River gelding doesn’t operate on better ground. He won the Mildmay Chase in 2016 on good to soft ground. He won the Hennessy in November that year on good to soft ground. He finished third in the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2017 on good ground, less that three lengths behind Sizing John.

So, it’s three miles and one and a half furlongs today, not three miles and two and a half. And Haydock is a sharper track these days than Newbury or Cheltenham. That said, these big, staying steeplechases can be as much about rhythm as they are about anything else, and Native River is metronomic. If he and Richard Johnson can get themselves into a nice even rhythm in front, they might take a lot of catching.

It seems like Native River has been around for ages, but he is only eight and he has raced just 13 times over fences. Might Bite is nine.

Bristol De Mai has a chance, he goes well fresh and he goes well at Haydock. However, Nigel Twiston-Davies’ horse excels on soft or heavy ground at Haydock. He may be hindered more by the atypical ground than Native River will be.

In a contest to savour, Native River looks over-priced at 11/4.

ASCOT

Cyrname also looks over-priced at 11/2 in the Gerard Bertrand Hurst Park Handicap Chase at Ascot.

Paul Nicholls’ horse was a progressive novice chaser last season. Winner of the Grade 2 Wayward Lad Chase at Kempton at Christmas, he ran Terrefort to a neck in the Scilly Isles Chase at Sandown in February, and he followed up by landing the Pendil Chase back at Kempton very easily.

He probably went too fast too early in the Manifesto Chase at Aintree in April, when he didn’t look happy going left-handed anyway. He ran well on his return this season behind Mister Whitaker in the Colin Parker Memorial Chase at Carlisle three weeks ago, and that should have brought him forward nicely.

He goes well on good ground, and he stays two and a half miles, so this stiff, extended two miles should suit him well. Crucially, he is back going right-handed, and he remains progressive, a six-year-old who has run just seven times over fences.

His biggest dangers may be his stable companions, San Benedeto, who ran well in the Haldon Gold Cup last time, and Modus, who battled on well to win a handicap chase at Cheltenham’s October meeting. But Cyrname has plenty in his favour.

Recommended:

NATIVE RIVER, 1 point win, 11/4 (generally)

CYRNAME, 1 point win, 11/2 (generally)