NOTRE PERE appeared none the worse for his disappointing display in the Betfair Chase at Haydock on Saturday.

Connections of last season’s Welsh National and Punchestown Gold Cup winner are mystified by the performance and will spend the next few days trying to discover why Notre Pere ran so badly.

The eight-year-old had been expected to be suited by the testing conditions on Merseyside. However, he was never travelling and eventually finished a distant fifth to Kauto Star in the hands of Ruby Walsh.

“He arrived home first thing this morning, there are no outward signs as to why he ran so poorly. It was just too bad to be true and we will look through the week to see if we can find the reason why he didn’t spark,” said trainer Jim Dreaper yesterday.

“We have to try to get him back to what we think he can do. Hopefully it was just a blip. Maybe he remembered the hard fall he got (in the Champion Chase at Down Royal earlier this month), but the straight answer is we just don’t know, we need to find out.”

Meanwhile, Kauto Star was in tip-top shape following his heart-stopping win. The dual Cheltenham Gold Cup hero was winning the Merseyside feature for the third time in four years but was pushed all the way by Imperial Commander and there was only a nose between them at the line.

Now the nine-year-old will attempt to win the William Hill King George VI Chase at Kempton for a fourth time on St Stephen’s Day. “He’s A1. Obviously we were pleased that he won. It was a tight race, but it was what we wanted to start the season off and now it’s all systems go for Kempton.” said trainer Paul Nicholls. “It was a proper race for every fan of jump racing. It was a good race and he’s fine.”

And Nicholls admits Denman faces a tough test in trying to defy top-weight for a second time in the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury on Saturday. Nicholls is set to be triple-handed in the famous handicap as he also intends to saddle My Will and What A Friend, part-owned by Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson.