Bravemansgame will bid to regain Charlie Hall trophy

Paul Nicholls-trained nine-year-old won at Wetherby in 2022 and was second last term.

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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