The jumps season moves up a gear this weekend. Saturday 31 October brings the Champion Chase, a Grade 1, at Down Royal, the Charlie Hall Chase and West Yorkshire Hurdle at Wetherby, and a Premier Handicap at Ascot, while the Flat season winds down at Newmarket with the Group 3 Horris Hill Stakes. Sunday has two Listed chases at Carlisle and the Group 3 Loughbrown Stakes at the Curragh.
The horses below are from the entries as they stood on Tuesday. Final fields for Saturday are confirmed on Thursday and for Sunday on Friday, so some will drop out and others will switch races.
Down Royal Champion Chase (Grade 1) – Saturday, 3.15pm
Ten were entered for the three-mile Champion Chase, and the two highest-rated met at Cheltenham in March. Heart Wood won that Ryanair Chase comfortably at 9/2 for Henry de Bromhead, with Banbridge two lengths back in third. Heart Wood was only third as the 6/5 favourite in the Melling Chase at Aintree next time, while Banbridge unseated at the Chair in the Grand National before warming up for this with a win in a Flat maiden at Gowran in September. Banbridge is the top-rated in the race on 176, two pounds clear of Heart Wood.
Gordon Elliott entered four, and the most interesting is Romeo Coolio. He won four in a row as a novice, including the Irish Arkle at Leopardstown in February, before a bad mistake four out ended his race in the Brown Advisory. Noel Meade’s Affordale Fury (rated 173) and Rebecca Curtis’s Haiti Couleurs (172) add depth, and Andrew Slattery’s Fleur In The Park comes in off a win.
Charlie Hall Chase (Grade 2) – Wetherby, Saturday, 2.55pm
All eyes at Wetherby will be on Pic d’Orhy, who makes his debut for Dan Skelton after moving from Paul Nicholls. The 11-year-old is top-rated on 166 and ran well in defeat on his last two starts of last season, second in the Ascot Chase and third in the Bowl at Aintree. We have everything you need to know about Pic d’Orhy ahead of his return.
Skelton also entered Doyen Quest and Riskintheground, and Nicholls still has two in the race in Hitman and Twinjets. Patrick Neville’s The Real Whacker comes here off a win, and Handstands and Master Chewy are rated 158, the same as Hitman. For some of the race’s history, read our look back at Wetherby’s finest steeplechasing stars.
West Yorkshire Hurdle (Grade 2) – Wetherby, Saturday, 2.18pm
Olly Murphy’s Strong Leader is the highest-rated of eight entries on 156, but he needs to bounce back after being pulled up in the Liverpool Hurdle on his final start last season. Dan Skelton’s Take No Chances (150) and Philip Hobbs and Johnson White’s French Ship (148) are next in the ratings, while Tom Symonds’ Lud’or won his last race.
Horris Hill Stakes (Group 3) – Newmarket, Saturday, 1.40pm
Nineteen two-year-olds were entered for the seven-furlong Horris Hill, and the joint highest-rated are Charlie Appleby’s Jassas and Simon Crisford’s Lex Victoria, both on 102. William Haggas’s Mezzo Forte is next on 99, and Aidan O’Brien has three entered in Accumulation, Bengal Tiger and City Of Gold, all of whom won last time.
Later on the card, the Listed James Seymour Stakes over a mile and a quarter has a big entry of 17, headed on ratings by Hugo Palmer’s Grey Cuban (115), who won last time, and Charlie Appleby’s Arabian Light (114).
Regal Encore Handicap Chase (Premier Handicap) – Ascot, Saturday, 2.33pm
Seventeen were entered for Ascot’s feature, a three-mile Premier Handicap that should take plenty of solving. Jamie and Josh Moore’s Tapley has won his last two starts, and Paul Nicholls’ Viroflay also comes here off a win. Transmission and Rock My Way are the highest-rated on 154. Ascot was riding good, good to firm in places, with watering under way on Tuesday.
Carlisle’s Listed double – Sunday
Carlisle stages two Listed chases over two and a half miles on Sunday. The Houghton Mares’ Chase at 1.48pm has drawn Gordon Elliott’s Kala Conti, the top-rated on 153, though she fell on her last start. Nicky Henderson’s Holloway Queen has won her last two, and Paggane is also entered at Wetherby on Saturday.
The Colin Parker Memorial Intermediate Chase at 2.58pm could be a cracker. Fergal O’Brien’s Sixmilebridge (157) and Sam Thomas’s Steel Ally (156) both won three in a row last season before finishing fifth on their final start. Jamie Snowden’s Wendigo is close behind on 154.
Loughbrown Stakes (Group 3) – Curragh, Sunday, 2.35pm
The two-mile Loughbrown Stakes has a huge entry of 34, and Willie Mullins has five of them. Sir Mark Prescott’s Consent is the highest-rated on 125, ahead of Aidan O’Brien’s Amelia Earhart on 121.
The weekend’s fixtures
- Saturday 31 October: Newmarket, Wetherby, Ascot, Ayr, Down Royal and Southwell (evening)
- Sunday 1 November: Carlisle, Huntingdon, Worcester and the Curragh