Henry de Bromhead is happy to stick to what he knows in the case of A Plus Tard who, all being well, will have the same campaign as last year, beginning in the Betfair Chase at Haydock on Saturday.
The Grade One contest traditionally does not attract a big field, despite the huge pot on offer, and the current Gold Cup champion will face a maximum of four rivals.
He beat only six 12 months ago, after which he went on to be narrowly denied in the Savills Chase at Leopardstown before winning at Cheltenham in stunning style, by 15 lengths from stablemate Minella Indo – meaning it was the same two horses who filled the first two positions for two years in a row.
“He seems in great form, he’s working really well. Rachael [Blackmore] schooled him this morning and he jumped really well so all seems good at the moment,” said De Bromhead on Monday.
Ireland v Fiji: TV details, kick-off time, team news and more
To contest or not to contest? That is the question for Ireland’s aerial game
Ciara Mageean speaks of ‘grieving’ process after missing Olympics
Denis Walsh: Steven Gerrard is the latest to show a glittering name isn’t worth much in management
“Rachael gets a great tune out of him, they were brilliant last year in the Gold Cup so we’re looking forward to Saturday and hopefully we’ll have a bit of luck and everything will take care of itself after that.
“He seems to be pretty adaptable regarding the ground and he’s lovely to have around, very laid back and very straightforward.”
Despite the small field, and lack of other Irish interest, De Bromhead is taking nothing for granted.
“I always think they are all to fear. Bristol De Mai has won it however many times [three] and I can’t quite believe the price Frodon is when you think what he has achieved. It’s a Grade One so I’m afraid of them all. Obviously Protektorat ran well in the Gold Cup also,” said De Bromhead.
“I haven’t given much thought to tactics yet, and that is more Rachael’s department. From my point of view the less horses to beat the better! We just want to get him there in good shape. When you are only running these horses three or four times a year you want these runs to count so we hope he’s as well as he was last year.
“Hopefully the plan after this will be Leopardstown at Christmas and then Cheltenham in March. I think that makes sense as obviously he has the preference for going left so they are the obvious races for him.”
It seems hard to comprehend, given A Plus Tard won a novice handicap chase at the Festival in 2019, that the Cheveley Park Stud-owned gelding is still only eight – with many believing he is just hitting his prime.
De Bromhead feels he could even be better again this season.
“I think he’s just strengthened and matured. Other than that it’s hard to give any other reason, maybe Rachael is riding him differently but not a whole lot. He just seemed to really find himself last year and he’s kept on improving. Physically he looks an even stronger horse again, but Saturday will tell us an awful lot.”
It was not until his victory in the Savills in 2020 that A Plus Tard was viewed as a staying chaser, and the Co Waterford handler holds his hands up.
“I got it completely wrong when we first got him,” he said. “I kept running him over two miles, but I suppose he confused us when he beat the good horse of Willie’s [Mullins, Chacun Pour Soi] over two miles.
“He’s just so classy he seems to handle any trip. When we first got him I just wanted to win races with him, but did I see him as a three-miler? Probably not. He was still entered in the two-mile and the three-miler at Christmas and we only decided a few days before to run him over three.
“Since then we haven’t looked back. I remember in the Ryanair [2020], I think he was favourite, and he just looked like he lacked a gear between the second-last and the last and I suppose after that I hoped he was more a three-miler.
“It’s incredible to have the attributes to stay three-mile-two and to have the speed he showed after the last. I think he blew us all away last March and he seems to just have a lot of class.”
