11 entries were declared for Wetherby’s Bet365 Charlie Hall Chase on Saturday (2 November). By Tuesday morning this had already been reduced to 10 with the news that The Giant Bolster has suffered a minor setback and will miss the race. Any deterioration in the ground at Wetherby between now and Saturday could also see other runners drop out.
But the presence of Long Run in the race certainly whets the appetite so early in the jumps season. He has not run at Wetherby before and has usually started his season later in the autumn.
Master Of The Hall finished a distant last in last year’s race but lines up again. In three races last season, when trained by Nicky Henderson, the gelding was beaten by a total of 139 lengths. He is now the charge of Micky Hammond.
Last year’s runner up Wayward Prince is also back for another go in this season’s renewal. Quoted on sportinglife.com his trainer Hilary Parrott explained:
“Wayward Prince will run in the bet365 Charlie Hall Chase as long as the ground is not bottomless. Good to soft ground would be fine, but he doesn't like a slog. I ran him at Newton Abbot just to sharpen him up. He has come out of that in good form and has been working nicely. He went all right on his last run over fences at Aintree, but he is a bit of enigma and his best two performances were in last season's Charlie Hall and when he won at Aintree. He would have a chance of making the frame if he could reproduce that run behind Silviniaco Conti, but it is shaping up to be a very hot race."
Silviniaco Conti was an impressive winner last year and Paul Nicholls looks to have another contender from a similar mould in the form of Unioniste. Just a five-year-old, Unioniste has had five runs in the UK, winning three. He was sent off favourite for the RSA Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in March and finished fourth. He is by the same sire, Dom Alco, as Silviniaco Conti too.
The 2013 Charlie Hall is promising to be a fascinating early season showpiece.
