Protektorat, Clan Des Obeaux and Kemboy to go at it in mouthwatering Betway Bowl
- Tom Reed
- 6 April 2022
An exciting Betway Bowl is in store on the first day of the Aintree Grand National Festival which starts on Thursday, April 6. Protektorat heads a stellar nine lined up for the Grade 1.
Dan Skelton's Protektorat heads a scintillating Betway Bowl lineup on the first day of the Aintree Grand National Festival which starts on Thursday, April 7.
Third in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, Protektorat will line up against Paul Nicholls' Clan Des Obeaux and Willie Mullins' Kemboy in a stellar nine runner field for the Grade 1 contest.
Clan Des Obeaux won the three miles, one furlong contest in 2021 with Mullins' Kemboy taking the race in 2019.
The Sir Alec Ferguson part-owned Protektorat is a worthy favourite, progressing well to claim third in this year's Gold Cup at Cheltenham behind A Plus Tard and Minella Indo.
Irish Gold Cup winner Conflated adds depth to the Betway Bowl field with the Gordon Elliott runner going fairly well at Cheltenham in the Ryanair before falling.
Colin Tizzard's Eldorado Allen managed to complete in the Ryanair, finishing third and looks a decent each-way proposition alongside Venetia Williams' Royale Pagaille who finished fifth in the Gold Cup.
Bristol De Mai will need a bit of rain for Team Twiston-Davies, while Ann Hamilton's Nuts Well and Olly Murphy's outsider Itchy Feet complete the line-up.
Meanwhile, a competitive Betway Aintree Hurdle is in store as Cheltenham Champion Hurdle second and third Epatante and Zanahiyr go toe-to-toe once more.
Nicky Henderson's talanted mare Epatante has won and been placed twice in the last three runnings of the Champion Hurdle and will go over two and a half miles for the first time, as will Elliott's Zanahiyr.
Nicholls is targeting Aintree after a weak Cheltenham and sends Monmiral and McFabulous.
