Equinties - hall of fame

Gm Equinauts

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Let’s dive in!

HEADLINE ROUNDUP

HALL OF FAME

Paul Nicholls has a rich history with the Grade 2 Charlie Hall Chase, this weekend’s feature contest at Wetherby.

He’s not the leading trainer – that title falls to Nigel Twiston-Davies on six successes – but he’s not far behind with five victories of his own. SEE MORE BUSINESS delivered his first and second wins in 1999 and 2000, SILVINIACO CONTI followed suit in 2012, CYRNAME added his name to the list in 2020, and the ever-lovable BRAVEMANSGAME bolted up in 2022.

The eventual Gold Cup runner-up should have probably given Nicholls his sixth win in 2023 if not for a momentum-stopping leap at the last fence, which handed the race to GENTLEMANSGAME. We will never, ever, forget Nicholls’ reaction to this loss! We wish we could find the ITV video of it, but we can’t, sadly.

BRAVEMANSGAME chased home THE REAL WHACKER last year, but with BMG now soaking up the French sun, Nicholls has decided to send PIC D’ORHY to the race instead, which is a big statement of intention.

Nicholls is a creature of habit. He loves to send his horses to races they’ve already won before, and with PIC D’ORHY, we all assumed the 1965 Chase at Ascot would be his starting point before a potential King George tilt, which in itself is ballsy.

But, he’s coming out swinging, and three miles as a seasonal reappearance is what PIC D’ORHY has ahead of him. Nicholls said: "If it's dry in Britain and wet at Down Royal, I'd say he'd almost certainly go for the Charlie Hall. We'll just keep an eye on the ground in Ireland and see what is left in the race, but I'd say Wetherby is favourite.

"Over three miles, I'd say the better the ground, the better it would be for him. He's always looked like he'd stay well and it's a nice race to run him in. He's ten now but he's got plenty of mileage left in the tank, so it's worth a look. He's a solid horse who runs well fresh and I'm sure he'll get three miles. I'm not going to say it will bring out more improvement because it doesn't need to. He's straight for the run."

We love this. Rather than taking the chance on three miles for the very first time in the King George, a race that is set to be hot this year, why not give him a spin in the Charlie Hall, and if he goes well, then it’s full steam ahead to Kempton. If not, take a pull, and you could even still run in the 1965 Chase later in November.

Nicholls also spoke about the potential starting point of KALIF DU BERLAIS, his Champion Chase horse for this season, as he said: "Ground permitting, Kalif Du Berlais will go for the Haldon Gold Cup, but if it doesn't rain enough he'll go for the Shloer Chase at Cheltenham. He looks well and worked well this morning.

"Caldwell Potter will get an entry in the Paddy Power Gold Cup but I'd say he will probably go for the Betfair Chase in three weeks. He worked nicely this morning and is where we want him at the moment. Both have got to take the next step up the ladder this season but it will be interesting to see how they get on."

JONBON vs KALIF DU BERLAIS at the November meeting? What an extremely early Christmas present that would be!? Go on, Paul, avoid Exeter (which would be more susceptible to quick ground than Cheltenham) and send him to Prestbury Park in three weeks. For the greater good.

Quickly back to the Charlie Hall, it does look like a nice little race:

HANG IN THERE will want quick, as will last year’s winner THE REAL WHACKER, SAM BROWN is just a super horse, the same DJELO that bolted up in the Denman Chase last season (beating HITMAN) would be dangerous, and obviously HEWICK will be quite a tough horse to beat. GA LAW has the Coral Gold Cup as his main aim, so he may just need it.

MORE CLASHES

‘It’s not all about Cheltenham.’

For years, this phrase has been banded around jumps racing, and it’s true. The racing is generally brilliant in the build up to Christmas. In fact, jumps racing is Christmas for us. But the pull of Cheltenham can be so great that trainers that they will dodge and dive through the season, just to target it. We understand why, it’s their Olympics but it’s very boring for fans.

The likes of Nicky Henderson and Paul Nicholls have gotten better over the last couple of years, in fairness, and this is something the sport has really tried to work on with a tightening of the race calendar and more incentives to run horses in races. But those Cheltenham blinkers do still exist.

So, when we get the promise of decent early-season clashes, we should have a small celebration. We’ve already touched on a potential one between KALIF DU BERLAIS and JONBON in the Shloer, and there are more to mention, including a few this week!

Let’s start with Saturday. HAITI COULERUS may be missing this weekend, but both POTTERS CHARM and STONG LEADER are entered for the Grade 2 West Yorkshire Hurdle. The latter won the Grade 2 Long Distance Hurdle as a fresh horse last year, while the former is unexposed in staying hurdle races, and he has decent form on good ground. Nice race, especially if the track gets hit by rain on Thursday (currently good ground).

Then, in the Listed Mares’ Hurdle, Champion Hurdle heroin GOLDEN ACE could take on KATEIRA and DYSART ENOS. Yes, Jeremy Scott’s mare is clear on the ratings, but she probably came on for her seasonal reappearance last year in the Coral Hurdle, and DYSART ENOS should be race-fit after her spin on the Flat in early September. This race can throw up a surprise or two (LUCCIA beaten at 4/9 last year).

As for Ascot on Saturday, Dan Skelton has handed L’EAU DU SUD an entry for the 2m1f handicap chase. He’s rated 155, which is on the steep side, but he is probably a Grade 1/2 animal, and the likes of MARTATOR, BOOTHILL, and Irish raider SPECIAL CADEAU could give him something to think about.

Then over in Ireland, CROKE PARK, ENVOI ALLEN, FOUND A FIFTY, SPILLANE’S TOWER, and WESTERN FOLD are the main names to note from the Grade 1 BetVictor Champion Chase, and next month, MAJBOROUGH and MARINE NATIONALE could well take each other on in the Grade 2 Fortia Chase at Navan.

Last year’s Champion Chaser versus Willie Mullins’ Champion Chaser for this season is a pure chef’s kiss. One horse could beat another on their seasonal reappearance, and if it’s close, they could take each other on again at Christmas with it still all to play for. They could well have a DELACROIX vs OMBUDSMAN-style rivalry this season, which would be cool, and again, it wouldn’t all be about Cheltenham.

Let’s hope the weather plays ball and the first few months of this season can really set a good tone.

INTERESTING YOUNGSTERS

News was a bit low yesterday, so in this final section of the newsletter, we want to draw your eye to the first two races at Ffos Las today.

There’s only one jumps card today, and, usually, Ffos Las doesn’t attract the biggest superstars in the world, especially since the Welsh Champion Hurdle was taken away from the track but today, there are a couple of interesting novice hurdlers who could go on to better things.

The first is KALKBRENNER for Ben Pauling in division one of the 2m4f maiden hurdle. He won a PtP before being bought for £120,000, and he did run in one bumper last year at Ayr. He was sent off 9/2 that day, so they must have been seeing good things at home, and in the summer ahead of this season, Pauling was fairly complimentary of this horse. In his pre-season stable tour, Pauling said: “He is a horse I like, and I really think this horse is a proper type. He won his point-to-point and ran nicely up at Ayr considering how ours were running at the time. I think he could be a proper two-and-a-half-mile novice hurdler and whether he will end up in the EBF Final or whether he is good enough to be a Graded horse, I do not know. Though I think he is a proper one.”

Could he need this if they are thinking of handicaps for him? Maybe, but he seems to be impressing his trainer. He’s in a good heat though with most in the field owning experience under rules. He’s up against LON CHANEY who is nicely bred (second dam produced GINNYS DESTINY and Mildmay winner GODS OWN) repping a very in-form yard, JACK BLACK for the Skelton’s should love the mud (although it might not be deep enough for him!) and the well-related DIXIE MAFIA for Christian Williams who is a half to the unbeaten Cheltenham heroine BAMBINO FEVER (the market suggests he’s waiting for handicaps with this one).

In the second division of the 2m4f maiden hurdle, STARZAND, an impressive Ffos Las bumper winner, makes his hurdling debut, and he is odds-on. The Philip Hobbs & Johnson White team don’t say much to the press, but he bolted up in a Dromahane PtP in December before looking smart under Sean Houlihan in March.

The form of his Ffos Las bumper hasn’t been tested yet, which would be a worry, and BIG CADILLAC beat a decent horse in GENTLEMAN TOBOOT at Chepstow in a bumper earlier this year. DIG DEEP is another that Pauling thinks plenty of as well, so it looks like a hot race.

There are a fair few unexposed, exciting horses running in those first two races. Whoever wins, the form of these contests could be worth watching with notepads ready.

RISK ON

A terribly painful bet yesterday as NIGHT WOLF underperformed badly. Today we dust ourselves down and will play:

15.50 SIERRA BLANCA

A heavy going specialist who needs slow ground and looks well handicapped. Stake hedge with Bethell’s NATIVE INSTINCT who we lost on last time but is ready to win.

18.00 AFTER LOVE, 18.30 GREEN DAME & 19.30 TRYST

All three strongly fancied to go in today so worth a treble or trixie, risk appetite dependant. 15/1.

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