Bravemansgame and Paul Nicholls set for Charlie Hall Chase return at Wetherby

The eight-year-old provided trainer Paul Nicholls with his fifth victory in the West Yorkshire highlight last season before going on to lift the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day.

He subsequently finished second to Galopin Des Champs in the Cheltenham Gold Cup before rounding off his campaign with a third-placed finish in the Punchestown Gold Cup.

With a defence of his King George crown nominated as his primary objective, Bravemansgame could again make his comeback at Wetherby on Saturday, although his participation is likely to be ground dependent.

Nicholls has also entered Pic D’Orhy, last seen winning the Grade One Melling Chase at Aintree.

Lucinda Russell’s Ahoy Senor disappointed in last year’s Charlie Hall, but has the option of contesting the Grade Two feature again, while he has also been entered in the bet365 Hurdle on the same card.

The sole Irish contender is Gentlemansgame, trained by Mouse Morris. Aye Right (Harriet Graham), Dashel Drasher (Jeremy Scott) and Dan Skelton’s pair of Midnight River and Sail Away are the other contenders.

With significant rain forecast for the coming days, Wetherby’s clerk of the course Jonjo Sanderson expects conditions to be testing for the track’s two-day fixture.

He said: “We had six millimetres of rain overnight and I’d say ground is probably slightly nearer soft than good to soft.

“The weather forecast is mixed, to say the least. They’re saying we might get 5mm overnight tonight, 4mm overnight tomorrow night and then this storm is brewing.

“From Thursday into Friday it looks like being a wet 24 to 30 hours, so we’ll see what happens. At the moment they’re saying something between 15mm and 20mm of rain through that period.

“The track will take that, I would hope. Our issue is when we get heavy rain in a short period of time, the dykes lift up and you get water pooling on the track, as opposed to the track being waterlogged.

“I don’t think 20mm will cause that, it would be more like 40mm or 50mm.

“There’s nothing in the forecast at the moment that would give us concern, but if we get what’s on the horizon, the chances are we’re going to be soft ground Friday/Saturday,” he added.​

Bill Baxter is reported in “A1” condition ahead of a proposed return to action in the Colin Parker Memorial Intermediate Chase at Carlisle on November 5.

The seven-year-old was last seen prevailing in the Topham at Aintree, which made it four wins from five outings since a wind operation, and the long-term plan is to go for Grand National glory over the same fences in April.

Bill Baxter is also entered in the Each Way Extra At bet365 Handicap Chase at Wetherby on Friday, but Carlisle appears to be the preferred option.

“He’s done everything well, he’s summered well,” said trainer Warren Greatrex. “He’s back in and he’s been all good. I think he’s probably improved a little bit from last season, which he has to, but he seems A1.

“The main plan is to go to Carlisle, that will be his start-off point. We’ll aim him there, it’s a nice place to start off again, and then he does have an entry for the Hennessy (Coral Gold Cup).

“We’ll look at that, we’ll see how Carlisle goes and go from there, but I couldn’t be happier with him.”

Champion jockey William Buick is to become an ambassador for Autism in Racing.

Buick, who landed the final Group One of the season at Doncaster on Saturday on Ancient Wisdom, recently highlighted that his son, Thomas, is autistic.

Buick said: “I’m delighted to be an ambassador for Autism in Racing. It is something which is very personal to me and my family and it is very close to my heart.”

With significant rain forecast for the coming days, Wetherby’s clerk of the course Jonjo Sanderson expects conditions to be testing for the track’s two-day fixture.

He told Racing TV: “We had six millimetres of rain overnight and I’d say the ground is probably slightly nearer soft than good to soft.

“The weather forecast is mixed, to say the least. They’re saying we might get 5mm overnight tonight, 4mm overnight tomorrow night and then this storm is brewing.

“From Thursday into Friday it looks like being a wet 24 to 30 hours, so we’ll see what happens. At the moment they’re saying something between 15mm and 20mm of rain through that period.

“The track will take that, I would hope. Our issue is when we get heavy rain in a short period of time, the dykes lift up and you get water pooling on the track, as opposed to the track being waterlogged.

“I don’t think 20mm will cause that, it would be more like 40mm or 50mm. There’s nothing in the forecast at the moment that would give us concern, but if we get what’s on the horizon, the chances are we’re going to be soft ground Friday/Saturday.”