WILLIAMS RELAXED AHEAD OF STATE OF PLAY’S RUN IN BET365 CHARLIE HALL CHASE AT WETHERBY
*BLACK JACK KETCHUM AND GASPARA HEAD TO WETHERBY ON SATURDAY*
Trainer Evan Williams reckons State Of Play, 9/4 market leader with sponsors bet365, “looks a million dollars” ahead of his seasonal debut tomorrow (Saturday, November 3)in the £90,000 Grade Two bet365 Charlie Hall Chase (3.30pm), run over three miles and a furlong, at Wetherby.
The seven-year-old gelding raced three times last season, winning the Grade Three Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup at Newbury on November 25, before running with great credit when sixth in the Grade One totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup at The Festival in March.
On his only other start, State Of Play finished fourth behind Exotic Dancer in the Grade Two Betfair Bowl at Aintree in April.
Williams is happy with the progress his stable star has made since his last start and is looking forward to a good run.
Williams revealed today: “State Of Play is grand, he’s in fine form. He’s got a little bit of form on decent ground, and I hope that the ground will be good at Wetherby. I’m not one to listen to other people’s opinions, I’ll declare the horses, go up there and use my own judgement.
“The ground at Cheltenham for the Gold Cup was good ground, and I was delighted by the way he ran there. He faced some extremely good horses in that race, and he’s in the top half a dozen chasers in the country.”
The Vale Of Glamorgan-based trainer is not worried about State Of Play coming into the race without a run since April, as he won at Newbury last season on his first outing for more than seven months.
Williams said: “He won the Hennessy first time out and seemed to appreciate going there fresh, and touch wood he’s in the same form as last season. I’m not that nervous this year, whereas last year I was a bit highly strung because I knew I had a well-handicapped horse with a massive chance of picking up a major prize for us.
“I’m a lot more relaxed now because he’s got nothing to prove, and he’s well, fresh, happy and looks a million dollars. It’s just a question of touching wood and getting fingers crossed, hoping everything goes our way.”
This year’s bet365 Charlie Hall Chase is a fascinating renewal, with the eight declared runners also including the exciting Ferdy Murphy-trained second-season chaser Aces Four(100/30), winner of the Grade Two John Smith’s Mildmay Novices’ Chase at Aintree in April.
Grade One Betfair Chase scorer Kingscliff (8/1) and 2005 bet365 Charlie Hall Chase winner Ollie Magern (9/2) are also in the line-up for tomorrow’s feature race alongside the Howard Johnson-trained Bewleys Berry (16/1).
Somerset trainer Philip Hobbs has declared the high-class Monkerhostin (8/1), while fellow West Country handler Paul Nicholls relies on Turko (9/1) and David Pipe, from the Devon/Somerset border, looks to Madison Du Berlais (12/1) to repeat the victory of stablemate Our Vic in 2006.
This the fifth year of sponsorship of the Charlie Hall Chase by bet365, one of the UK’s leading betting and gaming groups
As well as State Of Play, Williams has other runners at Wetherby tomorrow, and he is quietly optimistic about the chances of Overlut in the £5,000 bet365 Call 08000 322 365 Beginners’ Chase (12.45pm), who faces the promising Nigel Twiston-Davies-trained Battle Cry as well as Quai Du Roi and Water Taxi
Williams said: “Overlut has only had one run for us, and I’d prefer to go left-handed with him. He’s got ability and showed that in France, as well as over here at Haydock when he won the Victor Ludorum Juvenile Novices’ Hurdle for Mr Green when trained by Francois Cottin.
“I think he’s one of those horses that, with a little bit of luck, might progress quietly as the season goes on. He’s a nice type of horse.”
The five-year-old gelding finished second on his first start for Williams in a novice chase at Huntingdon on October 7, and ran behind Detroit City in the Grade One JCB Triumph Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in March, 2006.
Williams also has high hopes for another import, the German-bred With Speed, who is set to take his chance in the £9,000 New Bramham Hall For Conferences & Banqueting Novices’ Hurdle on Saturday.
The Welsh trainer said: “He’s a strong, nice animal, who has won on the Flat in Germany. He’s by Spectrum, who was the sire of Sunray, a horse we had a lot of luck with.
“He’s got an awful lot of ability, it’s just a question of whether he can transfer that ability to hurdles. I like the horse, and I want get a run into him at Wetherby.”
The four-year-old gelding won a maiden at Dortmund in May, 2005, and Williams hopes he can have a similar impact to Sunley, who won a Grade One Juvenile Hurdle at Chepstow in 2003.
With Speed is one of eight declared runners for the two-mile contest alongside the Howard Johnson-trained Carlisle bumper winner Knockavilla.
The two-day bet365 Charlie Hall Chase meeting at Wetherby on Friday November 2, and Saturday, November 3, commences on Friday with a good six-race card that includes the £23,000 Listed bet365.com Handicap Chase (3.25pm) over an extended two miles and three furlongs, and the £16,500 Listed Weatherbys Bank Wensleydale Juvenile Novices’ Hurdle (2.50pm) over two miles.
As well as the Grade Two bet365 Charlie Hall Chase, Saturday’s card will also host the £40,000 Grade Two John Smith’s Hurdle (2.20pm) over three miles and a furlong, which has six declared runners including the brilliant Jonjo O’Neill-trained Black Jack Ketchum, My Turn Now from the Charlie Mann yard, the Johnson-trained Crocodile Dundee, Faasel, Lough Derg and St Matthew.
The other Pattern race on the card is the inaugural running of the two-mile £40,000 Listed Daniel Gath Mares Only Hurdle (4.05pm), which has attracted five declared runners headed by the Pipe-trained Gaspara, winner of the Sunderlands Imperial Cup and Fred Winter Juvenile Novices’ Handicap Hurdle, as well as taking second in the Grade One John Smith’s Aintree Hurdle.
The field also contains County Durham trainer Howard Johnson’s exciting prospect Artless, who is looking to build on a promising first run at Hexham recently.
Latest bet365 prices for the bet365 Charlie Hall Chase: 9/4 State Of Play, 10/3 Aces Four, 9/2 Ollie Magern, 8 Kingscliff, Monkerhostin, 9 Turko, 12 Madison Du Berlais, 16 Bewley's Berry
Each-way a quarter the odds 1-2-3
Admission prices for bet365 Charlie Hall Chase day, Saturday, November 3: Premier Enclosure £27; Paddock Enclosure £16; Course £5; Pick of the Paddock (advanced only) £20; Cars to Course (incl. four adults) £17; OAPs to Course £2.50; Children under 16 (accompanied by an adult) are admitted free; Coach and car parking is free.
TROPICAL STRAIT ON TARGET FOR totesport.com NOVEMBER HANDICAP
Tropical Strait is primed for the biggest test of his burgeoning career in the £75,000 totesport.com November Heritage Handicap over a mile and a half at Doncaster on Saturday, November 10, the closing day of the 2007 British Flat season.
Trainer David Arbuthnot has been eyeing the prestigious end of season prize since the four-year-old’s 12-length demolition of nine rivals in a mile and a half Polytrack maiden at Kempton on September 24.
The lightly-raced four-year-old son of Intikhab, whose career began when runner-up in a Haydock bumper in April, duly followed his Kempton victory with a winning handicap debut over the same distance and on the same surface at Wolverhampton on October 2, before an aborted trip to Ascot.
Arbuthnot revealed today: “Tropical Strait had a slight accident in the box going to Ascot and that is why he was withdrawn last time, but he has recovered from that and at the moment we are intending to go to Doncaster for the totesport.com November Stakes.
“Hopefully, the ground will be suitable as he will not run if the going turns very soft. He will go on good to soft but I would not run him on soft.
“He has been impressive in his two wins and I am very pleased with the way he has progressed. Obviously, he has taken a hike in the weights but hopefully his ability can match it.”
Arbuthnot has high hopes for the powerful gelding who is owned by Anthony and Francis Ward, sons of long-time owner and sponsor George Ward who is Tropical Strait’s breeder.
Tropical Strait is now 15lb higher in the handicap than when opening his account at Kempton off a mark of 71 and looks set to develop into a smart middle-distance handicapper despite being by a champion sprinter out of a six-furlong winner.
The Berkshire trainer added: “Tropical Strait is a horse who stays and has a turn of foot as well. A lot of Intikhab’s stock do stay - there are plenty who are good two milers and jumpers so I think he is one of those stallions that can get horses at all trips.
“He is not going jumping and he will have a holiday after the totesport.com November Stakes. I think he might possibly make into an Ebor horse next year.”
The totesport.com November Handicap is the final major contest of the turf Flat season and invariably provides a thrilling send off.
Last year’s renewal, staged at Windsor while Doncaster Racecourse underwent a stunning redevelopment, was won by the Roger Charlton-trained Group Captain who took the spoils by a length and a quarter under Richard Hughes.
The totesport.com November Handicap has been won by a host of classy individuals over the years and 1998 saw the remarkable Yavanna’s Pace defy top-weight of 9st 10lb to secure victory. The Mark Johnston-trained gelding went on to become the first 10-year-old to win a Group One race in Europe when taking the Credit Suisse Private Banking Pokal at Cologne in 2002.
The Jeremy Glover-trained Clifton Fox completed a notable double in 1996, adding the totesport.com November Handicap to his victory four weeks earlier in the Cambridgeshire at Newmarket.
The totesport.com November Handicap is the highlight of an entertaining seven-race card at Doncaster, which also features the £30,000 Listed totesport 0800221 221 EBF Gillies Fillies’ Stakes over an extended 10 furlongs and the £40,000 Listed totesportcasino.com Wentworth Stakes over six furlongs.
The day celebrates the British Flat season of 2007 and presentations to the Champion Trainer, Champion Owner, Champion Jockey and Champion Apprentice will take place. The thrilling battle to be Champion Jockey between Jamie Spencer and Seb Sanders could go right through to the final race.
After racing, Kings Of Queen, an exciting and powerful four-piece band who accurately recreate the phenomenon that was Queen, will perform.
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