Sizing John is one of seven confirmations for Saturday's Betfair Chase at Haydock.

Last season's Cheltenham Gold Cup hero has long been nominated to run in the Grade One on Merseyside as he takes the first challenge in a three-part series which could yield a £1million bonus.

Sizing John will hit the jackpot if Jessica Harrington's seven-year-old can also win the King George at Kempton and the Gold Cup back at Cheltenham in March.

Cue Card has won the Betfair Chase three times and will again try his luck for the Colin Tizzard team.

The 11-year-old must, however, set the record straight after he fell on his seasonal debut in the Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby.

Bristol De Mai, trained by Nigel Twiston-Davies, won the Charlie Hall and is set to renew rivalry with Cue Card.

Irish interest might also be spiked by the presence of the Gordon Elliott-trained Outlander, who returned to winning ways in the JNwine.com Champion Chase at Down Royal.

Shantou Flyer (Richard Hobson), Tea For Two (Nick Williams) and Traffic Fluide (Gary Moore) complete the list.

Jessica Harrington said on Monday: "If Sizing John is as good as last year, I'll be happy. Sizing John is seven, rising eight, and in theory horses should be at their optimum in their seven to eight season and then they slightly start to go downhill. My only worry is the three hard races last year might leave a mark on him but he had hard races the year before and seemed to come out of it very well.

"He is a very relaxed horse and his real strength is that he jumps chase fences at two-mile speed against three milers. When he lands, you can steady him up and go again.

"It was after Sizing John won at Leopardstown that we decided to go for the Gold Cup rather than the Ryaniar Chase at Cheltenham. I wasn't as confident as Robert (Power, jockey) that he would stay in the Gold Cup because in three months he had gone from two miles to three miles and two furlongs.

"The Betfair Chase is bound to be a very good race. The Jockey Club Triple Crown will be very, very hard to win. If it happens, it happens. It's like the Lotto - if your first number doesn't come up, you know your fate.

"If we get over the first hurdle at Haydock, we have to go to Kempton and take on Might Bite, who looked very good the other day, and Willie (Mullins) will probably send over Djakadam too, so there will be plenty to take him on.

"I have Sizing John as fit as I hopefully can and he seems in good form. He was throwing his head around after he worked yesterday and looks good this morning but you never know until you get them to the racecourse."

Sizing John's jockey Robbie Power added: "The Betfair Chase is the starting point for Sizing John. He is ready to go and we couldn't be happier with him.

"He went very well after racing yesterday and schooled around Naas the week before and jumped super. He felt good at Naas and even better yesterday, so he is coming right at the right time.

"I have ridden around Haydock a few times before so I can't use that as an excuse! Sizing John is very versatile - he has Grade 1 form over two miles so the flat track won't inconvenience him at all. He has plenty of pace and stays really well.

"From the first time I rode Sizing John, I always thought he wanted further. I am not saying at that stage I thought he was a Gold Cup contender. It is amazing when you talk about confidence in a jockey or a sportsperson, I think horses also need confidence.

"Sizing John had been getting his arse spanked by Douvan over two miles and when he won the Kinloch Brae at Thurles, his work improved in the build-up to Leopardstown and then when he won the Irish Gold Cup, his work improved again. He really got his confidence back by getting his head in front.

"His work from Leopardstown to Cheltenham was something we hadn't seen before - he just got better and better. The last couple of weeks before Cheltenham made me hopeful he would win the Gold Cup and it was just a question of whether he would stay the extra two furlongs. I was confident he would stay and the good ground was key - he is a good ground horse."

OUTLANDER UPDATE

Gordon Elliott said today: "Outlander is a grand horse. He will probably travel over on Wednesday night and Jack Kennedy will take the ride.

"He had an operation for a kissing spine but it went grand and we got him back on track. We were just happy that he jumped a bit better on his first start of the season at Punchestown - it was a bit disappointing but I don't think that he was fit enough.

"We put cheekpieces on him at Down Royal, when Jack gave him a great ride, and we are very happy with him.

"The Betfair Chase looks a good race but we will take our chance. He is in great form and bouncing. He looks great and we couldn't be happier with him.

"If you go back to his Lexus run last season, it was very good. A lot of people fancied him as an outsider for the Gold Cup but he never jumped at all, which was obviously to do with his back.

"If he gets back to that Lexus run, he is good enough to line up at Haydock. The Down Royal run might not be strong enough form but his Lexus win would not be far off it. He can be a bit hit and miss, so hopefully he turns up on a going day.

"The heavier the ground, the better for Outlander. You have to respect Sizing John, Cue Card - when he is on a going day, he is brilliant - and Bristol De Mai. Every one of them in their own right is entitled to turn up but, if we get a bit of luck in running and everything works out, Outlander would have a good each-way chance.

"The chance of our lad winning the Triple Crown is very slim but, if you are not in, you can't win so we will take our chance. I would love to have a horse good enough and Don Cossack on his day might have been the one, but it is hard to do."

Betfair Chase - Betfair odds: 13/8 Bristol De Mai; 5/2 Sizing John; 3/1 Cue Card; 10/1 Tea For Two; 10/1 Outlander; 20/1 Traffic Fluide; 50/1 Shantou Flyer

EW 1/4 Odds 2 Places

The Jockey Club Triple Crown - Betfair odds: 20/1 Sizing John, 80/1 Bristol De Mai, 14/1 Any Other Horse

In this 12-minute interview, Gordon Elliott begins by giving an update on Outlander, followed by plans for more of his stable stars. He also discusses how some recent equine fatalities in the yard affected his team. The sound quality improves after 1m 15secs