Native River on course for heavyweight clash with Might Bite in Betfair Chase as nine entered
Assistant trainer Joe Tizzard can't wait to see the Gold Cup hero back out on the track
THE stage is set for a heavyweight clash at Haydock on Saturday.
Cheltenham Gold Cup hero Native River is set to lock horns with Might Bite and Bristol De Mai in the Grade 1 Betfair Chase with a total of nine horses entered.
The Colin Tizzard-trained Native River only had two starts last season but managed to bag the big one at the Cheltenham Festival.
He was too strong for Might Bite on that occasion, but he is currently behind Nicky Henderson's runner in the betting.
The pair are 5-4 and 10-3 respectively, with defending Betfair Chase winner Bristol De Mai a 5-1 shot.
Assistant trainer Joe Tizzard is hoping for a box office bout at the Merseyside track this weekend.
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He said: “Of course we are (looking forward to taking on Might Bite). It was a hell of a duel in the Gold Cup, and I’m glad we came out on top.
“It was good to watch. It was nice to see Might Bite bounce back at Aintree and slaughter the rest that day, because it just franks the form even more.
“It is nice to have those two competing all the time, and it would be great for racing and great for us.
"We have got massive respect for him, but we are not going to hide away from him. We are looking forward to it.
Betfair Chase Five Day Entries
Might Bite
Native River
Bristol De Mai
Thistlecrack
Clan Des Obeaux
Politologue
Shattered Love
Don Poli
Outlander
“Native River handles Newbury well, and Haydock has a nice galloping straight, so he can wind it up a long way out. He has been pretty good around a lot of tracks.
“Native River had a school on Sunday morning over fences and he schooled absolutely beautifully. We will just do standard stuff on the way up to the race.”
The Tizzard's could also be represented by former King George hero Thistlecrack.
The crocked chaser will need some juice in the ground if he is to take his chance having been scratched from last month's Charlie Hall Chase because of quick ground.
Tizzard continued: “He will run on ‘good to soft’ good, but it was quicker than that at Wetherby.
"Last season it wasn’t his tendon that was a problem – it was a stress fracture. If the ground stays as it is, we have no problems with both of them.
“He is getting older, and this is probably his last season to be at the top of his game, so we need to get him out into these big races as often as possible.
“We are really pleased with where we have got him and are looking forward to running him on Saturday – but if he is not competitive then we will have to re-jiggle and look elsewhere.”