[3] Al Ferof made his debut for Champion Trainer Paul Nicholls in a Grade 2 Bumper race at Newbury, which he won by five lengths under Ruby Walsh.
Sent off the 4/11 favourite, Al Ferof was forced to work unexpectedly hard to repel future Scilly Isles Novices' Chase winner For Non Stop by a neck.
[13] Kept wide by Ruby Walsh, Al Ferof jumped well but was outpaced by Somersby and subsequent Queen Mother Champion Chase winner Finian's Rainbow.
Despite the reverse, Al Ferof stayed at two miles for a rematch with Sprinter Sacre, who was unbeaten in two starts over fences, in the Grade 1 Arkle Challenge Trophy at the Cheltenham Festival.
[19] After more than a year off the track Al Ferof returned in a two-runner affair, considered by Racing Post a public schooling session,[20] in the Ascot 1965 Chase on which he made all to win by 8 lengths.
His next start was in the King George VI Chase where after staying in touch with the leader who set a good gallop he could only manage third spot behind his stablemate Silviniaco Conti.
[21] In February 2014 he started 5/4 short favourite in the Denman Chase but facing a heavy going and a three miles trip he failed to get home and finished in second spot, 25 lengths behind the winner, trainer Paul Nicholls reporting: "Daryl (Jacob) said he travelled really well into the straight but then just ran out of stamina".
[22] At the 2014 Cheltenham Festival Al Ferof was dropped down in trip, going instead for the 2m5f(4.22 km) Ryanair Chase and while the good ground was in his favour he still failed to make an impression, only staying on for the 5th place with the Vet reporting after the race that he had got struck into on his off fore.
[23] Al Ferof returned for his first run of the 2014/15 campaign in the same race that he won at the start of last season, the Ascot 1965 Chase, in which he met six opponents, two of them higher rated on the official handicapper scale than himself at that time.
[24] The Grade 1 King George VI Chase was targeted a month later but like in the previous year his stablemate Silviniaco Conti proved better than Al Ferof, who stayed on well in the final stage of the race to take the third place.
He responded well to his jockey Harry Skelton and was about to make a move in the home straight when the lack of stamina, just like in his previous attempts in this race, prevented him of getting in contention with the three leaders.
At the second last fence the favourite of the race Don Cossack fell and left Al Ferof to run on for the same third spot in which he completed for the last two renewals, with the Hennessy winner Smad Place a further three lengths in behind.