A Plus Tard

Noted after he finished second in the Fortria Chase on his debut this season, A Plus Tard is worthy of note again after he won the Savills Chase at Leopardstown.

We knew that he was talented going into the race, but we didn’t know that he could stay three miles. We do now. And it wasn’t just that he stayed the trip, it was that, under a really adept and patient ride by Darragh O’Keeffe, he stayed the trip well. He hit the line strongly, and he left the impression that he has every chance of staying the extra two and a half furlongs of the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

As a just-turned seven-year-old, he has the potential to progress again as a staying chaser. As such, as a seven-year-old who has top class form over distances that are short of the Gold Cup distance, he has a similar profile to past Gold Cup winners Kicking King, War Of Attrition and Sizing John, as well as Best Mate and Kauto Star before they won their first Gold Cups. We don’t know by how much these seven-year-old staying chasers can progress. We do know, though, that Henry de Bromhead’s horse goes well at Cheltenham, he won the Close Brothers Chase as a novice and he finished a close-up third in the Ryanair Chase last March, and he is a big player in the Gold Cup picture.

Leopardstown, 28^th December 2020