Cheltenham Gold Cup fifth Royale Pagaille could make his seasonal debut in
either the Betfair Chase at Haydock or the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury.
Owner Rich Ricci said the Venetia Williams-trained eight-year-old, who has won three of his for starts at Haydock – including the last two renewals of the Grade Two Peter Marsh Chase – could bid to rectify the only blot on his copybook at the Merseyside track next month.
Royale Pagaille is at his best when the mud is flying and should the ground go in his favour, he could bid to go one better than last season in the Betfair Chase, when going down to eventual Gold Cup winner A Plus Tard in the extended three-mile-one-furlong contest.
Ricci said: “Royale Pagaille is fine. He is probably a little bit behind given the lack of rain, but he is a fine horse and was running a huge race in the Gold Cup on ground he wouldn’t have liked.
“I think the thing we have learned in the last two seasons is we’ve got a really nice horse on our hands, but he really is ground dependent.