“I WOULD much rather take on Ahoy Senor over three miles at Wetherby than three and a quarter miles at Cheltenham, that’s for sure,” said Paul Nicholls this week ahead of Bravemansgame taking on Lucinda Russell’s chaser in the Grade 2 bet365 Charlie Hall Chase (3.35) today.

A most insightful comment into his thinking with regard to Bravemansgame this season and one that seemingly provides the overriding feeling and betting into today’s contest, and perhaps the rest of the season.

It’s King George first and foremost for Nicholls. Bravemansgame’s superb jumping allows him to conserve energy for a turn of foot at the end of three miles, and that is all the more deadly on a flat track like Kempton. It’s how the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase worked out last year when Ahoy Senor had no answer late on.

So you can see why he’s favourite over Ahoy Senor today, around a flat track like Wetherby, but the pair are miles away from each other in the Gold Cup market with Lucinda Russell’s chaser in at 8/1 third favourite and his old rival as big as 33/1.

And yet, Ahoy Senor’s form doesn’t exactly follow the narrative that market suggests. His two wins over Bravemansgame have come in Grade 1 company around the flat plains of Aintree, where he has powered away from the Nicholls chaser.

And, arguably his best form of an excellent novice chasing campaign came over this course and distance in the Grade 2 Towton Novice Chase last season when he gave weight away in a comprehensive win over subsequent Grand National winner Noble Yeats.

So while bookmakers favour an equalising win now for Bravemansgame personal score with Ahoy Senor, it could easily go 3/1 to the latter. Perhaps it will be all the way to Aintree before the pair meet again after today, but just how big an impact they’ll have had in between that is the big question.

We should get a guideline to that today because the presence of the 161-rated Eldorado Allen, who has a 1211 record off a break of 200 days or more, provides a pretty solid form line.

Earlier on the Wetherby card, the likeable mare Indefatigable goes for back-to-back wins in the three-mile Grade 2 bet365 Hurdle (3.00). She comes into the race off very similar preperation to last season, a pipe-opening run and will be the fancy of many to win again, though the favourite is the talented Sporting John, another with an excellent record fresh.

Indefatigable’s trainer Paul Webber was reasonably hopeful when he talked to Wetherby racecourse after declarations came in on Thursday. He said: “The race at Pontefract was ideal for Indefatigable. She has been very well since and appears to have tightened up from it. She schooled nicely on Monday under her jockey Rex Dingle.

“Looking at the race, Sporting John could be improving, and I think we are worse off at the weights with Proschema and Thomas Darby from last year, but at least we have had a prep run which can be such a benefit.

“The mares’ allowance is always a help, although I will be hoping that the rain stays away.”