As if stung by the loss of his unbeaten record at Haydock Park 12 months ago, Bristol De Mai settled a few scores in the Betfair Chase on Saturday, winning the first Grade One contest of the season for the third time in four years with Lostintranslation, who bested him last year, well adrift. Clan Des Obeaux, the dual King George winner, put up a gallant challenge in second, but when Bristol De Mai is fit and firing around Haydock, he can be all but impossible to pass. Approaching the second-last fence, Clan Des Obeaux appeared to have the measure of Daryl Jacob and the front-running grey but when Jacob and Sam Twiston-Davies, on Clan Des Obeaux, asked for more, only Bristol De Mai responded and he stayed on strongly to the line to win by two lengths, with Lostintranslation a further 45 lengths back in third. Jacob and Paul Nicholls, the trainer of Clan Des Obeaux, felt that spells of heavy rain in the run-up to the race may have had an impact on the outcome. “On heavy ground, he didn’t get that strongly run three [miles] two,” Nicholls said, while Jacob had texted Bristol De Mai’s owners shortly beforehand to say that he’d “never been so happy to ride in the rain”. Clan Des Obeaux will now attempt to win the King George at Kempton Park on Boxing Day for the third year running. Bristol De Mai is not entered at Kempton and his season could be arranged around a first attempt to win the Grand National in April. “I’d love to have one crack,” said Jacob. “He’s nine now, rising 10, so I suppose if there’s a year that’s going to be his, it’s this year. “His jumping is very good, he’s brave when you need him to be but down the back straight there, he was good and clever to pop them.” Clan Des Obeaux showed enough promise on his return to action to replace stable companion Cyrname as favourite for the King George. Nicholls’s main hopes are top-priced at 11-4 and 3-1 respectively, while Lostintranslation, who was reported to be unsuited by the ground, is out to a top price of 10-1 from 6-1 on Saturday morning. At Ascot, Imperial Aura took over as favourite for the Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham in March after a convincing win in the Chanelle Pharma 1965 Chase, while Song For Someone, the outsider of three, took the Grade Two Coral Hurdle with an exceptional display of fast, precise jumping. “He is so technically accurate, it is a joy to watch,” said Tom Symonds, Song For Someone’s trainer. “At home, it’s quite scary. You can’t school him slowly as he hits everything, but if you go flat out, that’s when you see him at his best.”