Racecards
15:40 Wetherby
bet365 Charlie Hall Chase (Grade 2) (Class 1)
- 7 Runners
- Distance: 3m 45y
- Going: Soft
- Surface: Turf
- £100,000 added
- Winner: £56,950
- 2nd: £21,370
- 3rd: £10,700
- 4th: £5,330
- Form U/112B-5
- Age 10
- Weight 11-6
- Official Rating 160
- Trainer B Ellison
- Jockey Danny Cook
close up, ridden before 4 out, weakened before last
Aso (FR)
233- Form 45/1162-
- Age 9
- Weight 11-4
- Official Rating 168
- Trainer Miss V Williams
- Jockey Charlie Deutsch
tracked leader, led before 4 out, headed 2 out, no extra run-in
- Form 121266-
- Age 7
- Weight 11-4
- Official Rating 160
- Trainer C L Tizzard
- Jockey T J O'Brien
held up towards rear, mistake 5th, ridden and outpaced before 4 out, headway before 2 out, kept on to chase winner run-in, always well held
- Form 2/F6PF-1
- Age 9
- Weight 11-0
- Official Rating 157
- Trainer N & W Twiston-Davies
- Jockey Sam Twiston-Davies
with leaders, challenged 3 out, led next, edged right from last, kept on well, driven out
- Form 115F13-
- Age 7
- Weight 11-0
- Official Rating 151
- Trainer P A Kirby
- Jockey Sean Quinlan
led, headed before 4 out, weakened before 2 out
- Form 7/11112-
- Age 8
- Weight 10-10
- Official Rating 151
- Trainer W Greatrex
- Jockey R Johnson
held up towards rear, headway 10th, blundered next, chased leader after 5 out, ridden and weakened before 4 out, pulled up
- Form 22/1131-
- Age 8
- Weight 10-7
- Official Rating 148
- Trainer D Skelton
- Jockey Harry Skelton
held up towards rear, headway halfway, fell 11th
Previous results
In depth
Verdict
Several of these are confirmed front-runners so there should be a strong pace. La Bague Au Roi was unlucky to lose her unbeaten record over fences in a Grade 1 at Aintree in April and she’d earlier won the Kauto Star over 3m at Kempton. Top Ville Ben can be hard to peg back if getting to the front and is 2-2 over fences here. Definitly Red won this last year and was third 12 months earlier so comes to hand early and he was still travelling when brought down in the Gold Cup in March. Elegant Escape eventually finished sixth at Cheltenham and he will be staying on strongly if the leaders go off too quickly. We’ll take a chance on ASO, who made giant strides last season. Venetia Williams’ gelding only gave best to the rallying Frodon in the Ryanair in the spring and is worth another try over 3m. Chepstow winner Ballyoptic and the mare Molly The Dolly face a tough task in this company.
Formwatch
Definitly Red (IRE) 22-1 (11-10) Led, joined at 3rd and headed 6th, remained prominent and disputed again 6 out, pushed along and headed before 4 out, no impression and dropped to 5th 2 out, no extra, 5th of 8, 30 3/4l behind Kemboy (11-10) at Punchestown 3m 1f (1) Yielding - Soft in May.
Aso (FR) 33-1 (11-10) Tracked leaders, disputed lead after 5 out, led narrowly 2 out, soon ridden, headed flat, kept on, held towards finish, 2nd of 12, 1 1/4l behind Frodon (11-10) at Cheltenham 2m 5f (1) gs in Mar.
Elegant Escape (IRE) 10-1 (11-7) Hampered 1st, tracked leaders on inside, lost place 11th, behind and jumped right from next, lost touch 4 out, tailed off, last of 6, dist behind Kemboy (11-7) at Aintree 3m 1f (1) gs in Apr.
Ballyoptic (IRE) 9-2 (11-12) Made all, joined 3 out, 3 lengths ahead 2 out, driven out, unchallenged, won at Chepstow 3m hcp (2) sft in Oct beating Lil Rockerfeller (11-5) by 9l, 7 ran.
Top Ville Ben (IRE) 14-1 (11-4) Jumped well, allowed clear lead to 4 out, ridden between last 2, headed before last where not fluent, no chance with winner flat, lost 2nd near finish, 3rd of 6, 6 1/2l behind Lostintranslation (11-4) at Aintree 3m 1f (1) sft in Apr.
La Bague Au Roi (FR) 7-4fav (10-11) Led 2nd, headed when not fluent 2 out, soon ridden and one pace, 3 lengths down after last, rallied towards finish, not quite able to get back on terms, 2nd of 6, 1 1/4l behind Kalashnikov (11-4) at Aintree 2m 4f (1) gs in Apr.
Molly The Dolly (IRE) 5-1 (11-9) Held up in touch on outside, went 2nd and poised to challenge after 14th, upsides 4 out, led next, drew clear after 2 out, ridden out flat, always holding on, won at Ayr 3m hcp (2) gd in Apr beating Dandy Dan (11-12) by 3 3/4l, 9 ran.