Published 29 October 2026. Updated 30 October 2026. Analysis and views here are our opinion,
not a guarantee of anything. 18+, please gamble responsibly.
The Charlie Hall Chase is the feature on the second day of Wetherby’s two-day meeting, on Saturday 31 October. Gates open at 10.15am. It is a Grade 2 steeplechase over about three miles with 19 fences, run left-handed, with £100,000 in prize money, and for many of the season’s staying chasers it is the first serious run of the winter.
Why it matters
The jumps season builds towards Cheltenham in March, and the trainers of the top staying chasers have to start somewhere. Wetherby at the end of October is a regular choice, because a Grade 2 over three miles is a proper race without the weight of a championship. That gives the Charlie Hall a habit of attracting horses with bigger targets later in the season. Bravemansgame won it in 2022 for Paul Nicholls, the same autumn he went on to win the King George at Kempton.
The race started in 1969 as the Wetherby Pattern Chase, became the Charlie Hall Memorial Wetherby Pattern Chase in 1978 in honour of the trainer Charlie Hall, and took its present name in 1990.
The recent winners
| Year |
Winner |
Age |
Jockey |
Trainer |
| 2025 |
Djelo |
7 |
Charlie Deutsch |
Venetia Williams |
| 2024 |
The Real Whacker |
8 |
Brian Hughes |
Patrick Neville |
| 2023 |
Gentlemansgame |
7 |
Darragh O’Keeffe |
Mouse Morris |
| 2022 |
Bravemansgame |
7 |
Harry Cobden |
Paul Nicholls |
| 2021 |
Fusil Raffles |
6 |
Daryl Jacob |
Nicky Henderson |
| 2020 |
Cyrname |
8 |
Harry Cobden |
Paul Nicholls |
Five of the last six winners were seven or eight years old, and the spread of trainers is wide: five different stables in six years, with only Nicholls winning twice. Djelo won last year for Venetia Williams, ridden by Charlie Deutsch.
What looks the smart angle
We have not priced this race in a market block. Declarations came on Thursday, and it is another small field: six runners for the 2.55pm off, the same number as in 2025. Pic d’Orhy, beaten a length into second behind Djelo last year, heads the betting at around 11/8 in the previews we checked on Friday 30 October, which is the tight-at-the-top market a field this size tends to produce. At 11/8 (2.375) the favourite still clears both the 1/2 and the Evens minimums on the offers below. The key thing to check for each runner is whether this is its first run of the season. Trainers use this race in different ways: some want to win it, and some are happy to give a horse a run and get it fit for later.
As opinion rather than a tip: in a small field of seasoned chasers, the horse that has had a run already this autumn can have an edge over a better-rated one coming back after the summer.
Elsewhere
The Breeders’ Cup is at Keeneland the same day, with the Classic late on Saturday night UK time. On Sunday 1 November the Mexico City Grand Prix runs in the evening UK time, and the Paris Masters tennis starts its main draw on Monday.
Sportsbook offers for a jumps Saturday
The qualifying odds on each offer are worth reading against a small field, where the favourite may be odds-on.
Ad: Betfred’s bet £10, get £50 in free bets is the biggest of the three. The first bet must be £10 or more at Evens (2.0) or bigger on any sports market and settle within seven days, so an odds-on favourite would not count but most of the field would. You get £30 in sports free bets and £20 in Bet Builder free bets within 24 hours of settlement, valid seven days. The deposit has to be by debit card.
Virgin Bet’s welcome offer asks for a £10 deposit and a £10+ cash bet at 1/2 (1.5) or bigger within 14 days of registering, so a short-priced favourite still qualifies. You get 2 x £10 sportsbook free bets and 2 x £5 Bet Builder tokens, with seven days to accept them and seven to use them.
William Hill’s bet £10, get £30 in free bets also has a 1/2 minimum. Register with promo code R30, deposit £10 or more and place a £10 single from your main balance. Three £10 free bets follow once it settles, valid for seven days and to be used in full. PayPal, Skrill, NETELLER, Apple Pay and several other deposit methods are excluded.
Virgin Bet’s 100 free spins on Eye of Horus and 100 free spins on King Kong Cash Even Bigger Bananas 2 both pay winnings as cash with no cap. William Hill’s 50 free spins on Mining Pots of Gold needs code M50 and a £10 stake, with 24 hours to use the spins and a £30 cap on winnings.
If you want a bet on Wetherby’s big race, claim the Betfred welcome offer here. Any view here is opinion, not a tip. Bet only what you can afford to lose.
