Tag Archive for: charlie hall chase

Nicholls delighted with Wetherby ground for Bravemansgame

Paul Nicholls expects drying conditions to bring out the best in Bravemansgame as he looks to regain his crown in the bet365 Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby on Saturday.

The nine-year-old was a comfortable winner of the West Yorkshire showpiece two years ago en route to striking gold in the King George at Kempton on Boxing Day, but last season he had to make do with the silver medal in both races, with a runner-up finish in Haydock’s Betfair Chase sandwiched in between.

While some members of his Ditcheat string have looked in need of a run this autumn, Nicholls believes Bravemansgame is fit enough to do himself justice on his seasonal debut.

Bravemansgame with trainer Paul Nicholls
Bravemansgame with trainer Paul Nicholls (Adam Davy/PA)

“It’s totally different ground to 12 months ago, when it was basically heavy ground. He ran a good race (last year), he just blew up from the back of the last,” the Ditcheat handler told Betfair.

“We think we’ve taken a different approach this year, as we wanted him ready for this, rather than trying to leave a little bit of improvement for the Betfair Chase. I don’t think we’re going to go for the Betfair Chase this year, unless the ground happened to be fast.

“He’s in good shape. He had an away-day and worked very nicely with Ginny’s Destiny about 10 days ago. His schooling is good and we cauterized his palate in the summer. There’s lots of positives, but the most important thing is the ground.”

While Nicholls is pleased with the prospect of a sound surface for Bravemansgame, his former assistant Dan Skelton has decided against running his Cheltenham Festival winner Grey Dawning.

Last season’s Turners Novices’ Chase victor does hold an alternative engagement in the Colin Parker Memorial Chase at Carlisle on Sunday, but again his participation will be ground dependent.

Conflated in action at Leopardstown
Conflated in action at Leopardstown (Niall Carson/PA)

Conflated is one of two Irish-trained contenders, along with the Mouse Morris-trained French Dynamite.

Trained by Gordon Elliott, the 10-year-old Conflated is a familiar figure in the division who has two Grade One titles to his name, in the Irish Gold Cup and the Savills Chase at Leopardstown.

He has also been placed in several top-class contests, including finishing third in the 2023 Cheltenham Gold Cup, and looks to get his season up and running after parting company with Jack Kennedy at the first fence in the BetVictor Chase at Punchestown two and a half weeks ago.

“He was unlucky first time out, he just clipped a heel and came down, but at least he finished the course (riderless) and in a way he sort of had a run,” said Eddie O’Leary of owners Gigginstown House Stud.

“I hope that means something – he had a decent gallop! He goes to Wetherby because he’s far better off left-handed, so we hope he has a clear round and hope for a bit of luck.”

Mouse Morris with French Dynamite following his recent victory at Punchestown
Mouse Morris with French Dynamite following his recent victory at Punchestown (Brian Lawless/PA)

French Dynamite was triumphant in last month’s BetVictor Chase and bids to provide Mouse Morris with back-to-back Charlie Hall wins following the success of Gentlemansgame 12 months ago.

Morris said: “French Dynamite came out of Punchestown in great order.

“He won nicely the last day. He had race fitness on his side, but it was a good performance and opens up a few more doors for him in terms of distance.

“I am trying to get him qualified for the Grand National, so hopefully he can finish in the first four at Wetherby. On his run the last day, he should be competitive, and I can see him running a nice race.”

More locally trained is Patrick Neville’s The Real Whacker, conqueror of Gerri Colombe in the 2023 Brown Advisory and tried in the very best company since. He ran in the Kerry National at Listowel in September, but unseated his rider at the 10th obstacle.

Neville said: “The Real Whacker goes into the Charlie Hall in great form.

“We were disappointed at Listowel, as we had him fairly ripe for the day. We will never know what would have happened, but it looked like he was going to run a good race.

“We are looking forward to Saturday, as the ground will be to our liking. It looks a fair line-up, but we are happy enough to take them on.”



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Bravemansgame will bid to regain Charlie Hall trophy

Bravemansgame and Gerri Colombe are two of the star names among 13 entries for the bet365 Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby on Saturday.

The Paul Nicholls-trained Bravemansgame has made his seasonal debut in the West Yorkshire feature in each of the past two seasons, winning impressively in 2022 but finding Irish raider Gentlemansgame too strong 12 months ago.

He was well beaten in the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Aintree Bowl in the spring, but is reported to be in rude health ahead of his return this weekend.

“We’re running Bravemansgame at Wetherby on Saturday in the Charlie Hall. He had an away-day last week with Ginny’s Destiny and went very nicely,” Nicholls told Betfair on Monday.

“The ground looks like being ideal for him, as opposed to last year, and we’re very much looking forward to him running on Saturday.”

Gordon Elliott has entered the Gold Cup runner-up and Bowl winner Gerri Colombe, although he is widely expected to bid for back-to-back victories in the Ladbrokes Champion Chase at Down Royal on the same day.

Mouse Morris (left) with French Dynamite after winning at Punchestown earlier this month
Mouse Morris (left) with French Dynamite after winning at Punchestown earlier this month (Brian Lawless/PA)

The Cullentra House handler could instead saddle Conflated, while Mouse Morris – triumphant last year with Gentlemansgame – may be represented by French Dynamite.

Shark Hanlon’s King George hero Hewick is another possible Irish raider, while the home team also features Jeremy Scott’s Dashel Drasher, Dan Skelton’s Grey Dawning, Iroko from Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero’s yard and the Patrick Neville-trained The Real Whacker.

Flegmatik (Skelton), Hang In There (Emma Lavelle), Sam Brown (Anthony Honeyball) and Thunder Rock (Olly Murphy) are the other hopefuls.



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Bravemansgame still on course to defend King George crown

Paul Nicholls remains confident Bravemansgame will put up a staunch defence of his King George crown despite suffering defeat in his bid for back-to-back victories in the bet365 Charlie Hall Chase.

Britain’s leading staying chaser was a comfortable winner at Wetherby 12 months ago before trouncing his rivals in the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day.

He went on to finish second to Galopin Des Champs in the Cheltenham Gold Cup and third in the Punchestown Gold Cup and was slightly odds-on at 10-11 to make a successful reappearance in the hands of Harry Cobden.

With Ahoy Senor faltering, Bravemansgame took over the running heading out onto the second circuit and some prodigious leaps in the back straight looked set to propel him to another big-race success.

He appeared to be getting the better of the Mouse Morris-trained Irish raider Gentlemansgame all the way up the home straight, but a bad mistake at the final fence took the wind out of his sails and his race-fit rival took full advantage, getting on top to prevail by a length and three-quarters.

Coral eased Bravemansgame to 2-1 from 7-4 to provide Nicholls with a 14th King George win over the festive period, but the Ditcheat handler is defiant.

He said: “I was pleased with him, he just got a bit tired on the ground and the other horse had obviously had a run.

“This time last year, you’d get away with horses needing the run a little bit on better ground, on this ground you don’t.

“He’s not been away, he’s not had a gallop anywhere. He’s done exactly as he did last year, he’ll take a step forward and the King George will be a different ballgame.

“We always almost expect too much first time out. Everything that we’ve run first time out on that ground has just taken a bit of a blow. If it had been good ground like last year, it wouldn’t have happened.

“Harry said he missed the last and just went for his girths. We’ve given the winner 6lb, our targets are the King George and the Gold Cup and it hasn’t made any difference to how he’ll run in the King George at all.

“That is as deep a ground as we’d run him on and Harry just said fitness caught him out on the day. We don’t like losing, but he’s run very well.”

Ahoy Senor disappointed for the second year running
Ahoy Senor disappointed for the second year running (Tim Goode/PA)

Ahoy Senor finished last of five as a hot favourite for last year’s Charlie Hall and again disappointed, this time being pulled up by Derek Fox.

Lucinda Russell’s eight-year-old will be given the opportunity to bounce back at Newbury on December 2.

Peter Scudamore, Russell’s partner and assistant, said: “Derek said he was tired. I wish he’d run better, but he’ll go to the Coral Gold Cup.”



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Nicholls opts for Charlie Hall Chase with Bravemansgame

Paul Nicholls has confirmed that Bravemansgame will be aimed at Saturday’s bet365 Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby, rather than waiting for Haydock’s Betfair Chase on November 25.

The eight-year-old gave Nicholls his fifth success in the West Yorkshire feature 12 months ago at the start of a successful second season over fences.

He went on to claim King George glory at Kempton before finishing second to Galopin Des Champs in the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Nicholls also has Aintree Grade One winner Pic D’Orhy among eight entries for the Charlie Hall, but the plan is to now keep him back for Ascot towards the end of November.

The Ditcheat handler posted on X, formerly known as Twitter: “After this evening discussing the weekend with Bryan Drew and Johhny de la Hay and with the prospect of soft ground and an uncertain forecast up to @haydockraces in 3 weeks we have decided to run Bravemansgame saturday @WetherbyRaces and leave Pic D’Orhy for @Ascot on 25th.”

Lucinda Russell’s Ahoy Senor disappointed as a hot favourite for last year’s renewal, trailing home last of five runners behind Bravemansgame, but is on course for a rematch.

Randox Grand National Festival 2023 – Opening Day – Aintree Racecourse
Ahoy Senor ridden by Brian Hughes at Aintree (Tim Goode/PA)

The eight-year-old showed his true colours in the second half of the season – winning the Cotswold Chase at Cheltenham in January before rounding off his campaign with a runner-up finish behind Shishkin in the Aintree Bowl.

Ahoy Senor is entered in both the Charlie Hall and the bet365 Hurdle this weekend, but Russell’s partner and assistant Peter Scudamore said: “I’m almost certain that Ahoy Senor will go for the chase. He seems OK, we’re happy enough with him.”

Dashel Drasher also holds a Charlie Hall engagement, but his trainer Jeremy Scott is leaning towards running over the smaller obstacles at this stage.

Dashel Drasher has good form over hurdles and fences
Dashel Drasher has good form over hurdles and fences (David Davies/PA)

He said: “We’ve just been discussing it; are we better over fences or over hurdles? It’s an interesting question really.

“I think we’ll bide our time and see what everybody else is doing and try to work it out, but I think in principle the most likely race, I would imagine, would be the hurdle.”



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Bravemansgame heads eight in contention for Charlie Hall

Last year’s winner Bravemansgame is one of eight entries for the bet365 Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby on Saturday.

The eight-year-old provided trainer Paul Nicholls with his fifth victory in the West Yorkshire highlight last season before going on to lift the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day.

He subsequently finished second to Galopin Des Champs in the Cheltenham Gold Cup before rounding off his campaign with a third-placed finish in the Punchestown Gold Cup.

With a defence of his King George crown nominated as his primary objective, Bravemansgame could again make his comeback at Wetherby on Saturday, although his participation is likely to be ground dependent.

Nicholls has also entered Pic D’Orhy, last seen winning the Grade One Melling Chase at Aintree.

Lucinda Russell’s Ahoy Senor disappointed in last year’s Charlie Hall, but has the option of contesting the Grade Two feature again, while he has also been entered in the bet365 Hurdle on the same card.

The sole Irish contender is Gentlemansgame, trained by Mouse Morris. The grey is also entered in the Ladbrokes Champion Chase at Down Royal on Saturday, but is set to head for Wetherby.

Gentlemansgame (right) at Leopardstown
Gentlemansgame (right) at Leopardstown (Niall Carson/PA)

Morris said: “Gentlemansgame is due to travel over for the bet365 Charlie Hall Chase. The owner (Robcour) has a couple of others to run at Down Royal this weekend, so it made sense to split them up.

“Gentlemansgame has been in lovely form since Gowran (second to Easy Game in PWC Champion Chase). I thought it was a smashing run and you could not have been happier but for winning. He jumped well and hit the line strongly.

“I want to get more experience into him as he has only had the two runs over fences. We are throwing him in the deep end a bit, but he has to go somewhere and this should tell us more about him.”

Aye Right (Harriet Graham), Dashel Drasher (Jeremy Scott) and Dan Skelton’s pair of Midnight River and Sail Away are the other contenders.

With significant rain forecast for the coming days, Wetherby’s clerk of the course Jonjo Sanderson expects conditions to be testing for the track’s two-day fixture.

Ahoy Senor has two options at Wetherby
Ahoy Senor has two options at Wetherby (Tim Goode/PA)

He said: “We had six millimetres of rain overnight and I’d say ground is probably slightly nearer soft than good to soft.

“The weather forecast is mixed, to say the least. They’re saying we might get 5mm overnight tonight, 4mm overnight tomorrow night and then this storm is brewing.

“From Thursday into Friday it looks like being a wet 24 to 30 hours, so we’ll see what happens. At the moment they’re saying something between 15mm and 20mm of rain through that period.

“The track will take that, I would hope. Our issue is when we get heavy rain in a short period of time, the dykes lift up and you get water pooling on the track, as opposed to the track being waterlogged.

“I don’t think 20mm will cause that, it would be more like 40mm or 50mm. There’s nothing in the forecast at the moment that would give us concern, but if we get what’s on the horizon, the chances are we’re going to be soft ground Friday/Saturday.”



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Monday Musings: Wishing to be elsewhere…

I’m getting onto my travel agent (actually I don’t have one any more as I’ve been nowhere for ages) this morning, writes Tony Stafford. I’ll be trying to find the best (and obviously cheapest) way of getting to my new favourite place, Mata’utu, capital of the little-known Wallis and Fortuna Islands.

You didn’t know it was a country? Nor did I till yesterday when hard on the latest lockdown news, I thought it was time to rekindle my spring and summer obsession with Covid-19 and the statistics thereof.

When, two months ago, August in the UK ended with two deaths and September began with three, we all knew that racing’s apparently idiotic continuation with strict separation of limited-allowed owners from their trainers and jockeys had been way over the top. As I’ve said before, I’ve not gone racing since Cheltenham, but why couldn’t you talk in close company to trainers and jockeys when you could meet them in the pub freely before or after the races?

Now we learn that it was precisely because of how draconian it had all seemed that racing now can continue. The situation with owners has yet to be determined but if we don’t want the rest of society to get the hump, maybe it’s best to give that concession. Well done BHA.

Where so recently there were two and three fatalities, two months on it was 274 and 326, a neat average of 300 which is what it has been for the past five alarming days. Pubs, bars and restaurants will be packed until Wednesday and on Saturday the first sightings of the re-emerging toilet-roll hoarders supplanted the usual non-stop flow of trick-or-treaters on Hallowe’en. When I didn’t hear the one knock by would-be recipients of the goodies Mrs S as usual dutifully provided, we were treated with a raw egg thrown on the newly-cleaned front kitchen window for our pains! Messy to clean eggs are [as Yoda might say].

I thought it would be timely, now total cases in the UK have topped the million, so 14,000 per million of population, which is the ninth highest globally, to return to the subject. Deaths have risen above 46,000, fifth behind the US, France, Russia and Mexico.

Propping up the entire table at 218th – although a couple of cruise liners are included – is the above-mentioned Wallis and Fortuna Islands, which between them have recorded one case, the victim of which has happily recovered.

The islands are in the South Pacific, in between such better-known tourist spots as Fiji, Tonga and Samoa, rugby nations whose influence on the game far exceeds the size of their population. Fiji has a team over in Europe at the moment. With only 34 recorded cases in the country it must have been a shock for the tour management to discover that “between five and seven” of their squad due to play an international in Paris with France next week have contracted the virus, so the match is off. Lesson for South Sea islanders: stay home!

I love statistics. With only one now recovered case, Wallis and Gromit – sorry Fortuna – are listed on that same Worldmeters league table as having 90 cases per million of population. I’d be willing to take my chance, as long as they tell me which of the 15,289 souls from the latest census it was that copped it. Maybe he should be required to wear a badge? Not that they are a total island paradise. Even-handed Wikipedia reports that the “main health risks are mosquitos and sunburn, while drunk driving and intoxicated locals can also be a problem”. Thinking twice now, what with my skin cancer!

**

It would be tragic if racing stopped again not least because it would deny us another sighting of Saturday’s marvellous Charlie Hall Chase winner Cyrname, who put together the complete three-mile performance when cantering home a couple of lengths ahead of the doughty Vinndication.

Sometimes apparent ease can be deceptive but surely not here as Harry Cobden always looked to be in first gear all the way round two circuits of Wetherby as the rest of them huffed and puffed behind front-running Aye Right. Cobden kept Cyrname wide, possibly giving lip-service to the fact the country’s highest-rated chaser hadn’t previously won going left-handed. As the 1966 World Cup commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme would have said: “He has now!”

Stamina didn’t look a problem around a galloping track and the fences, never the easiest, were treated like the most welcoming of hurdles as he soared over them in perfect union with his jockey. Paul Nicholls ought never again to have to justify Cyrname’s being rated 4lb higher than Altior, and all of a sudden the great recent domination of Irish stables in the staying chaser ranks might well be getting properly challenged. Certainly even if he wasn’t able to stretch himself to three and a quarter miles around Cheltenham in March – and how do they bet whether we can go to see it or not? – Kempton’s King George looks a Christmas gift for Cyrname.

Meanwhile here we are at the start of November and within the next six days we will have got the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday and two days of the Breeders’ Cup in Keeneland, Lexington, Kentucky, out of the way. In other words, all the worthwhile Flat racing of 2020 will have been and gone.

The O’Briens, father and elder son are back down under again, Aidan yet to win it, with 2019 Derby winner Anthony Van Dyck who heads the weights for the 24-runner two-mile handicap, and Tiger Moth, second in the Irish Derby this year and then an easy Group 3 winner thereafter. Joseph, who has won it before, also has two chances with proven stayers Master Of Reality and Twilight Payment.

Anthony Van Dyck will have his supporters after his recent close second to Verry Elleegant in the Caulfield Cup, for which the winner has incurred a 1lb penalty. Considering the first prize was £1,666,667 and the runner-up got £476,190, you could say that was hardly harsh treatment. Incidentally, Prince Of Arran, Charlie Fellows’ regular challenger for Australia’s biggest race, third and then second the last two years, got £114,000 for his fourth in the Caulfield Cup.

Verry Elleegant is some handicapper. This year the five-year-old mare, trained by Chris Waller, has gone to the races nine times, five before the actual end of the season in the Australian autumn. Her two best efforts before the break also earned her big money, each time running second behind William Haggas’s Addeybb and Tom Marquand as they picked up £1million plus prizes each time, at the start of his memorable year, while racing was in its lockdown phase back home.

After Verry Elleegant’s break, four more runs have followed bringing three wins including the Caulfield Cup.  All in Group 1 races, she started with a win over 7f, was then fourth over a mile, before further victories at 10f and a mile and a half. The three wins all came in photo-finishes. There must be a big chance that her toughness will be rewarded by victory in the biggest race of them all for Australians, and it comes at a time when Melbourne, so badly affected by Covid-19 earlier in the year, is celebrating as there have been no new cases anywhere in Australia on Friday and Saturday.

Presumably only insiders will be there rather than the six-figures that usually flock to Flemington  but the magic of getting up at all hours tomorrow morning to see John Berry give his usual virtuoso performance, not just on the big race, but all the supporting contests on the day, is an annual treat I don’t intend missing.

So the main tip is going to be Verry Elleegant and it will be a proper Aussie fairy story if she can do it. It’s always good though to see European trainers taking on the locals by using their training methods.

For years I’ve noticed more than a few horses run just before the big race. In the case of the Andreas Wohler four-year-old Ashrun, a son of Authorized – purchase authorized by Tony Nerses, of course! – he has run twice in the last fortnight, finishing a solid fourth to Steel Prince and ex-Hughie Morrison inmate, Le Don De Vie, in the Geelong Cup (Group 3) before as recently as Saturday coming home on top in another Group 3 at Flemington.

Unlike the brilliant home-trained mare and Anthony Van Dyck, Ashrun has no stamina worries for lasting out the two miles. In August he ran in the 1m7f Prix Kergorlay at Deauville and was a very good second, staying all the way to the line, behind Call The Wind. He gets 2lb extra for his win the other day, but again it will be a lovely story if the local pro-forma works for an invader.

Over the years, it seems, fewer Europeans attempt the costly trip across to the US to challenge for the Breeders’ Cup races and nowadays the dirt has become almost a total no-go. With five juvenile contests on Friday, the likeliest win for the invaders might be the Ballydoyle runner, Battleground, who has been reserved for the Juvenile Turf.

Royal Ascot winner Campanelle will be all the rage for Wesley Ward in either the Juvenile Turf Sprint, where she might meet Lippizanner for Aidan and the team, or the possibly easier-looking Juvenile Fillies’ Turf in which the Roger Varian-trained Nazuna might also be dangerous.

Three of the Saturday races that stick out as possible obvious chances for the travellers are the Mile, the Filly and Mare Turf, and the Turf. They could give us (yes it’s still ‘us’ even if we can’t be there!) three wins. In the F & M T Cayenne Pepper, Peaceful (my pick), and recent rivals Tarnawa and Audarya are a likely team for exotic wagering. In the Mile it’s One Master, Circus Maximus, 2,000 Guineas winner Kameko, and Irish 2,000 hero Siskin for the same bet. O’Brien (AP) and Gosden will line up with two runners each for the Turf, but this time it looks a straight match between Lord North (Gosden) and Aidan’s Magical. It has to be Magical for me and how I wish she could have had another shot at Addeybb after her luckless run at Ascot.

- TS



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