Paul Nicholls admitted the soft ground affected Clan Des Obeaux as he came off second best in the Betfair Chase on Saturday.
Nicholls' charge lost out to Bristol De Mai in Saturday's big race at Haydock but still ran a fine race considering the heavy going.
Defending his King George VI crown over Christmas is next on the agenda for Clan Des Obeaux and Nicholls is already looking forward to the traditional Boxing Day contest at Kempton.
After losing out in the first Group 1 of the season, Nicholls said: "The rain today didn't help him at all. On that heavy ground, he didn't truly get that three-two. Sam (Twiston-Davies) gave him a brilliant ride, but he was beaten by a mud lark and a real true stayer.
"I'm just thinking all the way what might have happened on better ground. He just could have done without all that rain as the ground has gone very heavy. The rain has beat him, but he has run a blinding race.
"It was an encouraging run for Kempton."
Article Posted on Sunday 22nd November 2020 @ 11.37
Join BTO Today!
Create your FREE BTO account to access great extra features such as setting up custom horse alerts, customising your race card experience and more! It's completely FREE!
LOGIN or Create an Account