CONEY Island is set to return to Ascot for the £150,000 G1 Betfair Chase on Saturday, February 17.

Entries have been revealed for the richest Grade One contest of the jumps season run at Ascot.

Run over two miles and five furlongs, the Betfair Chase boasts an outstanding roll of honour since its establishment in 1995.

Martha’s Son, One Man, Teeton Mill, Tiutchev, Our Vic, Monet’s Garden, Voy Por Ustedes and Kauto Star all feature among the winners.

Heading this year’s 19 entries is Cue Card (Colin Tizzard, 8/1 with Betfair) who is looking to become the first horse to win three renewals of the Betfair Ascot Chase.

A six-length victor in 2013, the King’s Theatre gelding registered an emphatic 15-length success last year to maintain his 100 per cent record at Ascot and gain his ninth G1 victory.

Jean Bishop’s horse, who has won over £1.4m in prize money, finished second to Bristol De Mai on his latest start in the G1 Betfair Chase at Haydock in November.

Trainer Colin Tizzard could also be represented by top-class chaser Fox Norton (8/1). The eight-year-old recorded back-to-back G1 victories in the G1 Melling Chase (2m 4f) at Aintree in April and the G1 Champion Chase (2m) at Punchestown in May. But Fox Norton was pulled up on his first start over three miles in the G1 King George VI Chase at Kempton Park on Boxing Day.

One of the most intriguing entries is the lightly-raced Coney Island (Eddie Harty, Ireland, 3/1). A winner of two of his four starts over fences, the seven-year-old returned after nearly a year off with a foot injury to record a nine-length success over course and distance in the Sodexo Graduation Chase on December 23.

Prior to that, Coney Island was a clear winner of the G1 Drinmore Novice Chase (2m 4f) at Leopardstown in December, 2016, and has a rating of 162 over fences.

Irish trainer Eddie Harty explained: “Coney Island is in good form and has come out of his latest run at Ascot really well.

“We’ll see how he is, but I would think that we would aim for the Betfair Ascot Chase.

“He won at the track last time over the distance. It is a very good race and he will be up against strong opposition. The ground won’t be any real concern for him.”

“He’s won a G1 before (Drinmore Novices’ Chase), so running in a race like this doesn’t faze us. The Cheltenham Gold Cup is definitely on our minds and he is entered.”

The exciting Top Notch (Nicky Henderson, Betfair’s 11/4 favourite) is unbeaten in three starts at Ascot and landed the spoils on his first start of the season with an eight-length victory in the G2 Christy 1965 Chase over the same distance at Ascot in November.

The seven-year-old, rated 164 over fences, justified odds-on favouritism by landing the G2 Peterborough Chase at Taunton in December.

West Berkshire trainer Nicky Henderson, is looking for a fourth success in the Betfair Ascot Chase following Riverside Theatre’s back-to-back victories in 2011 and 2012 and Tiutchev’s 2001 win, as he bids to join Martin Pipe as the race’s winning-most trainer.

Ruth Jefferson, who has taken over following the death of her father Malcolm last week, is doubly represented in the Grade One contest by Waiting Patiently (7/2) and Cloudy Dream (12/1).

Waiting Patiently is unbeaten in five starts over fences and has looked an exciting prospect this season, while the ultra-consistent Cloudy Dream has filled the placings in three starts this term.