Santini and Bristol De Mai set to renew rivalries

Last year’s one-two Santini and Bristol De Mai are among eight horses that have been declared for the Cotswold Chase at Cheltenham on Saturday.

Nicky Henderson’s Santini won last year’s renewal by three-and-a-half lengths over the Nigel Twiston-Davies-trained Bristol De Mai and he followed that success up by finishing a close second to Al Boum Photo in the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

However, since that near miss at the Festival, Santini has struggled for form, finishing fifth in his most recent appearance in the King George at Kempton on Boxing Day.

Henderson will be hoping a return to Prestbury Park this weekend will help Santini return to his best, although there are no guarantees the nine-year-old will even run in the race, as connections are concerned the predicted heavy conditions could do him more harm than good.

“Our feeling, even at the beginning of the week, was if it was heavy ground we’d have to think again,” Henderson told Sky Sports Racing. “It is a trial and it’s very important with him that he enjoys it.

“He loves work and loves jumping and loves racing, but I don’t want to take that away from him by giving him a very tough race in really heavy ground – I want to find a race that he’s actually going to enjoy.”

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