HAYDOCK PARK 15:00

All 5 ran. Fences: 19.

Time: 6m 36.8s Closing Sectional: (2.7f): 42.6s (98.4%)

Overrounds: Industry SP 107%, Betfair SP 97.9%

The dismal performance of A Plus Tard obviously took plenty away from this latest renewal of the Betfair Chase, but Protektorat was so good on the day that the Gold Cup winner would probably have had to work fairly hard to get the better of him even had he turned up spot on; the pace was good, Bristol de Mai attempting to run the finish out of his rivals but never threatening to manage it and a spent force once the winner went past 4 out.

PROTEKTORAT (FR) had undergone another breathing operation since flopping at Aintree 8 months earlier and produced a career best in gaining the second Grade 1 success of his career, beating Eldorado Allen by 7½ lengths further than Bravemansgame did in the Charlie Hall; patiently ridden, jumped fluently, typically travelled well, good progress eleventh, jumped on 4 out, in command next, ridden out; he's reportedly set to be trained with the Gold Cup in mind, likely to have just one more race before Cheltenham and worth remembering that his trainer has no peers when it comes to readying one for a specific target, a straight reproduction of this form in March sure to have Protektorat playing an even bigger role than he did in the 2022 renewal.

ELDORADO ALLEN (FR) gains top marks for reliability and seemed to give his running once more, coping fine with the emphasis being even more on stamina than it had been at Wetherby; in touch, ridden approaching straight, headway under pressure before 3 out, kept on, no match for winner.

FRODON (FR) was out again just 2 weeks after Wincanton and it's possible the edge wasn't quite there turned out again so quickly, though at the same time it's fair to say he has generally been found wanting in this sort of company over the last year or so; chased leader after first, lost place eleventh, pushed along after 5 out, no threat straight and merely passed a tiring Bristol de Mai late on.

BRISTOL DE MAI (FR) was running in the Betfair Chase for the 6th year in succession but, even though he still showed plenty of dash in lesser company on a couple of occasions last season, there's no doubt that he isn't the force of old, underfoot conditions barely testing enough for him here and paying the price for trying to run the finish out of speedier rivals; soon led, headed 4 out, dropped away before next.

A PLUS TARD (FR) was an understandable short-priced favourite to repeat his runaway success in the race 12 months earlier but clearly wasn't himself on his first start since the Gold Cup, connections unable to offer a reason in the immediate aftermath; held up, pushed along after thirteenth, no response approaching 4 out, slow there, pulled up quickly; obviously, this was a concerning effort, but it was still a bit of a surprise to see him pushed out to as big as 12/1 for the Gold Cup given how totally dominant he was in the 2022 running.