Royale Pagaille will return to Haydock for the track’s Grand National Trial after a rare blip at his beloved venue earlier this month.
A dual winner of the Betfair Chase at the Merseyside venue, including when outstaying Grey Dawning in the Grade One event in November, Venetia Williams’ veteran often saves his best for his trips to Lancashire.
He had a rare off-day in the Peter Marsh earlier this month when his jumping fell apart on quicker ground than preferred, but the Herefordshire handler is confident he can now bounce back to his best at a course where he has won five of his seven starts.
Williams said: “He came back with a couple of overreaches but not as bad as he has encountered in the past. He made a very bad mistake, which he can do, going down the back and slightly lost his confidence.
“Each time he’s been beaten at Haydock it has been in the two fastest races he has run in, which is obviously a reflection on the ground. But all being well he will head there next month for the Grand National Trial.”
Royale Pagaille is one of only five British-trained entries for the Gold Cup along with Cotswold Chase-winning stablemate L’Homme Presse, but Williams has sounded a note of warning about his participation in the blue riband, preferring to get the 11-year-old’s next appearance out of the way first.
She added: “We’ll see about the Gold Cup, but as I always say, it is one race at a time.”