Bristol De Mai on course for King George following Betfair Chase demolition

Bristol De Mai was reported to be in rude health the morning after his stunning display in the Betfair Chase at Haydock. The Nigel Twiston-Davies-trained six-year-old claimed his third victory at the Merseyside venue with a remorseless front-running display, coming home 57 lengths clear of three-time Betfair Chase hero Cue Card.

The victory capped a tremendous couple of days for owners Simon Munir and Isaac Souede, with Delire D'Estruval also winning at Haydock, and Kildisart and Top Notch scoring at Ascot on Friday and Saturday respectively.

Anthony Bromley, racing manager for the pair, said: "It was great. I got the owners over as it was the plan from some way out to have runners on those two days and it's brilliant when it all comes together. Bristol De Mai is in great form out in the paddock, which is great to see. There will be horses that ran in that ground at Haydock that won't be moving so well. He had an interrupted preparation for the Gold Cup last season, so to see him come out of the race so well is a very good sign."

With Bristol De Mai now in contention for the Jockey Club Chase Triple Crown and a potential £1million bonus, the King George VI Chase is the next port of call.

He will face a different test in the Kempton feature, going the other way round on what will likely be a sounder surface, but Bromley is confident he can prove he is not just a Haydock specialist.

He added: "If the horse is in good form and sound then he'll go for the King George. Plenty of people will have an opinion about it, but we feel the horse is stronger and moving better this season and Nigel doesn't feel the ground is a major factor. He obviously handles heavy ground well, but it's now up to him to prove he can do it on better ground away from Haydock."

Top Notch was an impressive winner of Ascot's Christy 1965 Chase and also holds a King George entry, but Bromley said: "If Bristol De Mai runs in the King George, Top Notch will not. We may leave him in at the five-day stage just in case, but the owners don't want to run the two horses against each other, especially with the bonus in the offing. We'll see how Top Notch comes out of his race. The Peterborough Chase at Huntingdon is only two weeks away, so it does come up quite quick, but if he's in good form he could go there and then wait for the Ascot Chase (February 17). If he goes to Huntingdon it will mean he'll have three fairly quick runs, but he can then have some time off in the middle of winter before hopefully going to Ascot, and that might be a springboard to the Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham. That is the scenario in my mind and I think Nicky (Henderson) is happy with it, too."

Bromley also confirmed French Champion Hurdle hero L'Ami Serge, who finished second in Saturday's Coral Hurdle at Ascot, will return to the Berkshire circuit for the Long Walk on December 23.