Read Timeform's report of a dramatic Charlie Hall Chase, which was won by Fusil Raffles after Shan Blue crashed out with the race at his mercy.
Substandard renewals have outnumbered those giving genuine Gold Cup contenders a seasonal springboard in the last decade or so but rarely has the Charlie Hall been taken apart as this one was until Shan Blue crashed out with the race at his mercy, his departure leaving a pretty poor imitation of an exalted staying prize, the enigmatic 2020 winner stopping to nothing and the pair who ended up finishing clear not doing much more than tread water themselves in a desperately slow finish.
Fusil Raffles proved his stamina for 3m but didn't need to improve for the trip - or even have to run up to the pick of his novice form - to claim a most fortuitous breakthrough at graded level over fences, a broadly listed-level performance on the book somehow proving enough as he ended up clear with a graduating handicapper, the lowest rating for the Charlie Hall winner since Harry Topper capitalised on Long Run's flop in 2013, Cyrname playing that role of disappointing big gun this time around; held up, he was making some headway when not fluent at the thirteenth but was left for dead when Shan Blue committed on the home turn and had little more than inherited a remote second - around 22 lengths behind - when that rival came to grief, driven clear thereafter in a plodding finish.
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Kitty's Light followed his latest handicap second with another at Grade 2 level, proving as determined and resolute as ever, though this form probably doesn't represent any more improvement and clearly isn't solid either, likely to have been beaten more like 20 lengths into third had Shan Blue stood up; held up, shaken up circuit out, outpaced end of back straight, rallied 2 out, stayed on; his future prospects rest on how literally this is taken by the BHA handicapper.
Clondaw Castle shaped as if needing the run after 7 months off, having looked sure to finish closer to the first 2 in the immediate aftermath of Shan Blue's fall; raced off the pace, still plenty to do home turn, effort 2 out, threatened briefly, not sustain effort.
Mighty Thunder, last seen pulling a Scottish National success out of the fire, found this contrasting examination wholly unsuitable but should at least be sharper for the run; in touch early, outpaced from before halfway, merely plodded on.
Top Ville Ben is clearly hard to train these days and would appear to have deteriorated considerably, beaten a good deal further - and giving far less cause for encouragement - than when fifth in this race first time out in 2019/20; led until third, lost second eighth, behind before 5 out.
Cyrname went as though his enthusiasm endures but undid any of the positives with yet another feeble response to pressure, retirement surely on the horizon given his obvious physical - and sometimes mental - frailties, arriving on the back of another breathing operation in his bid to defend his crown but said to have suffered a wind issue regardless, having soon gone to nothing once headed on the home turn, already wilting when a rare blunder 2 out saw Cobden call it a day immediately.
Shan Blue was in the process of delivering one of the most visually striking performances in this race's recent history only to pay for one of the very first mistakes in his young chasing career, leaving Cyrname standing as he moved to the front on the home turn before producing a devastating turn of pace when asked - though whether that bid for glory was required is another matter, given how the others were wallowing in his wake at that point - that had seen him open a lead of around 22 lengths by the time he took off too far away from the third last and hit the deck, even a conservative estimate suggesting he was set to post a rating in the mid-high 160s for all an already thin-looking renewal had long since started to fall to pieces; he was clearly primed for the day back at the scene of his first 2 wins as a novice, however, and at no stage was he taken out of his comfort zone or his stamina fully examined, suggesting this marked improvement may not prove so easily repeated.
