Bravemansgame denied by Gentlemansgame in Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby

Cheltenham Gold Cup runner-up Bravemansgame was denied back-to-back victories in the bet365 Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby by Irish raider Gentlemansgame.

Paul Nicholls’ charge looked to be set for a cosy victory under Harry Cobden as the pair approached the last together but the 10/11 favourite dived at the fence and lost all momentum.

This enabled Gentlemansgame (7/2), trained by Mouse Morris and ridden by Darragh O’Keeffe, to assert on the run-in and claim the valuable Grade 2 prize by one-and-three-quarter lengths.

Midnight River finished a distant third with Ahoy Senor pulled up after dropping out of contention following an awkward jump when leading at the penultimate fence on the first circuit.

Gentlemansgame became the first Irish-based winner of the race since Francis Crowley’s Sackville in 2001 and the trainer’s first winner in the UK since he landed the Grand National with Rule The World in 2016.

Morris said: “I’m very happy with that, he jumped super. He was a bit fiddly at one or two, but that was to be expected on his third run over fences.

“He was taking on a seasoned, Gold Cup horse (Bravemansgame). We came here because I was limited as to where I could go. The owners (Robcour) had their other horse going to Down Royal (Gerri Colombe) and it would be stupid to take each other on.

“It’s a long way to the Gold Cup. I suppose Leopardstown at Christmas would be the obvious place to go, but we’ll see how he comes out of it. He’ll stay all day and we’re living the dream.”

Botox Has lands feature hurdle

The Grade 2 bet365 Hurdle over three miles went the way of Botox Has after the Gary Moore-trained seven-year-old stayed on dourly under Caoilin Quinn.

The 15/2 chance was alongside the pace-setting Dashel Drasher and Red Risk as they jumped the final flight but he got the trip best of all to score by a length from Red Risk, with Dashel Drasher narrowly beating Thyme Hill for third.

Conditional jockey Quinn, who was unable to use his claim, was gaining the most notable success of his career.

Quinn said: “It’s unbelievable, I’m speechless, to be honest, what a performance that was. He was giving weight away to a lot of them, but one thing he has on his side is he’s very tough.

“When push comes to shove, he digs deep. I didn’t think he enjoyed the ground today, we thought he would, as he does like it soft, but for whatever reason he didn’t travel as well as he did when I rode him at Haydock.

“It’s very tiring ground and I just thought it was the best thing to go and let him pop the last, but I knew he had loads left.

“It’s an unbelievable training performance. I’ve said to loads of people, he [Gary Moore] is an absolute genius.

“He’s had his problems this horse, he had a niggling problem which meant he didn’t go to the Cheltenham Festival last season. He [Moore] has got him back as good as ever and I’m very grateful.”

You Wear It Well back on Festival trail

Cheltenham Festival heroine You Wear It Well made a successful reappearance with an all-the-way victory in the bet365 Mares’ Hurdle.

Jamie Snowden’s charge won four of her six starts last term, including the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at Prestbury Park in March. She also finished second in the Grade One Challow Hurdle at Newbury.

The six-year-old was a 2/1 shot for her comeback in Listed company, with Nicky Henderson’s Luccia the favourite at 11/8, and it turned into a straight shootout between the pair in the home straight.

Luccia was travelling better at one stage, but You Wear It Well refused to bend in front, digging deep for Gavin Sheehan to claim top honours by three lengths.

“It’s very special. She had a penalty for those Grade Two wins last season, so to do that with that penalty is great first time out,” said Snowden.

“She’s big and strong and she’s a legend. Gav gave her a wonderful ride. She’s quite feisty and takes a bit of riding, so fair play to the whole team.

“We were probably a little bit keen and a little bit fresh early on, but she’s jumped great bar the last and picked up well and galloped to the line.”

Paddy Power, Betfair and Coral all cut You Wear It Well to 8/1 to claim a second Festival win in the Mares’ Hurdle at Prestbury Park next March and she looks set to be kept against her own sex in the meantime.

“We were thinking about going chasing with her this year, but the mares’ hurdle programme is a lot better than the mares’ chase programme,” Snowden added.

“We’re quite keen to stay in mares’ company, so you’ve got the Sandown race, the Warwick race and then Cheltenham in March. That looks the obvious thing to do, but we’ll take it step by step.”

Sheehan was earlier in the winner’s enclosure aboard Kim Bailey’s The Edgar Wallace (9/2), who jumped his rivals into submission in the Bet Boost At bet365 Handicap Chase.