THE £1-million bonus offered by Jockey Club Racecourses for a horse winning the “Jumps Triple Crown” of the Betfair Chase, the King George VI Chase and the Cheltenham Gold Cup in the same season conspicuously failed to deliver a field of commensurate strength and depth for that first-named leg at Haydock last Saturday but it did deliver a winner of top-notch merit in Cue Card.

Cue Card, a winner at the Cheltenham Festival as long ago as 2010 (The Champion Bumper), had started the season looking as if his best days were behind him but has since enjoyed a notable renaissance, and his Betfair Chase win identifies him as pretty much back to his very best.