Charlie Hall Chase entries: Bravemansgame and Ahoy Senor entered for Wetherby

Despite suffering defeat to Paul Nicholls' Bravemansgame in the Kauto Star Novices' Chase at Kempton last Christmas, the Lucinda Russell-trained Ahoy Senor has twice got the better of his old foe in the past, including when an impressive winner of the Grade One Mildmay Novices' Chase at Aintree when the pair last raced in early-April.

Trained just south of Perth at Kinross, Ahoy Senor is third-favourite for a number of firms for the Cheltenham Gold Cup. But first he heads to Wetherby for the track’s feature race of the season, worth £100,000.

“As long as the ground is safe – around good to soft – we will go to Wetherby,” said Russell’s partner and assistant, Peter Scudamore.

“He is in good form and this looks a good starting point for him. He’s come back having summered well and we’re looking forward to it."

Champion trainer Nicholls said: “Wetherby being a flat track will suit Bravemansgame, as he has shown at Kempton albeit the other way round. He is very good fresh, which is a big plus, and he looks in great order.

“Ahoy Senor is a high-class horse with good form from last season. We beat him once, he beat us once, so of course it is being billed as a bit of a rematch, but I would much rather take him on over three miles at Wetherby than over three and a quarter miles at Cheltenham, that is for sure.

The two highly promising, second-season chasers feature among a potential field of 10 for Saturday's Grade Two contest over the extended three miles, where they might meet Jeremy Scott's former Grade One Ascot Chase winner Dashel Drasher.

Nicholls has a second string to his bow in the shape of 10-year-old Secret Investor, who has spent over 600 days on the sidelines, while Joe Tizzard has entered the grey Eldorado Allen, who beaten Hitman in the Haldon Gold Cup on his seasonal comeback last November and went on to win another Grade Two in Newbury's Denman Chase.

“Secret Investor also has a good record fresh but it has been a long time since he beat Clan [Des Obeaux] in the Denman Chase," said Nicholls. "He is not getting any younger and I suspect the run will bring him on."

Tizzard said: “This has been Eldorado Allen’s first objective for quite some time. He has had a good preparation and we are looking forward to getting him started.

"He enjoyed the step up to three miles in the Denman Chase at Newbury, which isn’t too dissimilar to Wetherby, and three miles on a flat track seems just about right for him. Looking at the entries, it is shaping up to be a good race and should tell us whether we can look at something like the King George."

Good Boy Bobby runs for last year's winning owners Simon Munir & Isaac Souede (Fusil Raffles), with the possible line-up completed by Paint The Dream, Sam Brown, Some Chaos and Christian Williams' mare Win My Wings, who was one of the success stories of last season after winning three valuable handicaps including the Scottish Grand National at Ayr.

Wetherby’s clerk of the course, Jonjo Sanderson, says the ground will be ideal jumping ground.

“We’re good to soft, good in places, having had 18 millimetres of rain yesterday in two quite heavy spells,” Sanderson said on Monday.

“We had 6mm on Friday night into Saturday and then we had 21mm on Thursday, so it’s had a decent dumping over the last few days.

“We’ve got a dry couple of days ahead of us, I think, and then potentially there’s some rain coming in on Thursday night into Friday morning, a dry day Friday and then some rain on Friday night into Saturday morning and then a dry day Saturday.

“If that maps out the way it’s looking, that would be ideal circumstances, really. I wouldn’t mind some more rain.

“It’s predominantly good to soft now and if you’d asked me if I thought we’d be good to soft this time last week I’d have said ‘goodness no’, and we’d be watering like mad, but thankfully that rain has come.

“We’re very pleased with the entries for the Charlie Hall – it’s what that race and jumps season deserves, isn’t it? Friday’s card is pretty strong as well, so we’re looking forward to it.”

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