Nicholls opts for Charlie Hall Chase with Bravemansgame

Paul Nicholls has confirmed that Bravemansgame will be aimed at Saturday’s bet365 Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby, rather than waiting for Haydock’s Betfair Chase on November 25.

The eight-year-old gave Nicholls his fifth success in the West Yorkshire feature 12 months ago at the start of a successful second season over fences.

He went on to claim King George glory at Kempton before finishing second to Galopin Des Champs in the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Nicholls also has Aintree Grade One winner Pic D’Orhy among eight entries for the Charlie Hall, but the plan is to now keep him back for Ascot towards the end of November.

The Ditcheat handler posted on X, formerly known as Twitter: “After this evening discussing the weekend with Bryan Drew and Johhny de la Hay and with the prospect of soft ground and an uncertain forecast up to @haydockraces in 3 weeks we have decided to run Bravemansgame saturday @WetherbyRaces and leave Pic D’Orhy for @Ascot on 25th.”

Lucinda Russell’s Ahoy Senor disappointed as a hot favourite for last year’s renewal, trailing home last of five runners behind Bravemansgame, but is on course for a rematch.

The eight-year-old showed his true colours in the second half of the season – winning the Cotswold Chase at Cheltenham in January before rounding off his campaign with a runner-up finish behind Shishkin in the Aintree Bowl.

Ahoy Senor is entered in both the Charlie Hall and the bet365 Hurdle this weekend, but Russell’s partner and assistant Peter Scudamore said: “I’m almost certain that Ahoy Senor will go for the chase. He seems OK, we’re happy enough with him.”

Dashel Drasher also holds a Charlie Hall engagement, but his trainer Jeremy Scott is leaning towards running over the smaller obstacles at this stage.

He said: “We’ve just been discussing it; are we better over fences or over hurdles? It’s an interesting question really.

“I think we’ll bide our time and see what everybody else is doing and try to work it out, but I think in principle the most likely race, I would imagine, would be the hurdle.”