Around 20 miles from Manchester city centre is Haydock Park, one of the most prestigious racecourses in the north of England.
As well as hosting a number of high-quality races on the Flat, Haydock also welcomes the Betfair Chase each November – a renewal that has seen some of the finest National Hunt horses do battle.
Kauto Star, considered one of the greatest chasers in history, won this race four times, while Cheltenham Festival and King George VI Chase winner Cue Card and Bristol De Mai both completed their Haydock hat-trick.
This iconic venue may also prove to be the perfect hunting ground for another emerging talent in Grey Dawning, whose 2025-26 campaign could be one to savour.
New Dawn
Dan Skelton’s eight-year-old is the ante post favourite in the horse racing betting for the 2025 Betfair Chase, with Caldwell Potter (7/2), Gaelic Warrior (7/1) and Nick Rcokett considered to be his most likely challengers.
But the horse racing tips columns will no doubt be bullish about the chances of Grey Dawning, given that he has already landed a major win at Haydock Park.
That came back in November 2023, when the grey – in just his second start over fences – landed the lucrative Graduation Chase at the Newton-le-Willows venue… defeating an impressive field, which included Grade 1 chase winner Gaillard Du Mesnil and Apple Away, by a comfortable margin.
The Betfair Chase is contested over three miles and a furlong, but Grey Dawning has shown an aptitude for that trip – winning a strong Hampton Novices’ Chase over the distance in 2024 before landing a Listed premier chase at Kelso earlier this year.
He made his bow in the Haydock renewal last year, being narrowly defeated by Royale Pagaille in a thrilling finish – a race Grey Dawning may just have won but for a poor jump at the final fence.
Connections will be performing a rain dance in the bid for softer ground at Haydock, which – should they get their way – will provide the eight-year-old with the ideal conditions for an assault on the £116,000 top prize.
And then who knows what 2026 will have in store, with a tilt at the Cheltenham Gold Cup not out of the question if Grey Dawning continues to perform admirably over the three-mile distance.
What a Star
No discussion of the Betfair Chase would be complete without reminiscence of the extraordinary Kauto Star.
In 2006, he ran over three miles for the first time at the Haydock Park extravaganza – immediately finding the trip to his liking. Paul Nicholls’ powerhouse won by a staggering 17 lengths, beating Grade 1 winning rivals while barely breaking a sweat.
In that 2006/07 season, Kauto Star also won the King George and the Cheltenham Gold Cup; thus completing the Stayers’ Chase Triple Crown… and landing owner Clive Smith a rather handsome £1 million bonus.
He returned to win the Haydock showpiece in 2007, 2009 and 2011, the latter a fitting swansong for a horse in the autumn of his career at the age of eleven.
Kauto Star was a two-time Gold Cup champion that won 16 Grade 1 races in all, banking £3.75 million in prize money – a National Hunt record – for his connections.
And yet, it’s his stellar work at a racecourse just outside Manchester that this global racing icon will be best remembered for by many.
Featured image credit: Tricia Sarrazin via Unsplash
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