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Bowen Aiming for bet365 Charlie Hall Chase Pot with Snoopy Loopy 28/10/09

Trainer Peter Bowen is looking forward to seeing how Snoopy Loopy gets on in the £100,000 Grade Two bet365 Charlie Hall Chase (2.55pm) at Wetherby on Saturday, October 31.

The 11-year-old chaser was third behind State Of Play and Ollie Magern in the same race last season before going on to give his trainer the greatest success of his career when landing the Grade One Betfair Chase at Haydock at the end of November.

Just a week after that victory, Snoopy Loopy ran another superb race to come home third under top-weight in Newbury’ Hennessy Gold Cup and was a half-length second to Monet’s Garden in the Grade Two Peterborough Chase at Huntingdon 12 days later.

He was pulled up when conceding upwards of 19lb to his rivals on his seasonal return in a handicap chase at Ffos Las on August 28, but Pembrokeshire-based Bowen believes that his stable star is primed to run a big race in the bet365 Charlie Hall Chase, for which he is a 12/1 chance with the race sponsor.

Bowen revealed: “Snoopy Loopy is definitely heading to Wetherby for the bet365 Charlie Hall Chase. He’s in very, very good form at the moment and I am very pleased with him.

“We always planned to give him a little break after Ffos Las and you can forget that run - he lost it from the start because he was giving most of the field almost two stone. He worked on Tuesday morning and we are over the moon with him at the moment.

“It’s fair to say that his form did tail off a bit towards the end of last season but you only need to see how many races he had. He’s back in really good form now and it gives us a little bit more encouragement when you see an 11-year-old like Monet’s Garden running so well at Aintree over the weekend.

“He won’t mind the ground - he was third in the same race 12 months ago - and he goes to Wetherby in great order. We will be aiming at some of the top staying chases again this season and I’m hopeful that he can run well on Saturday.”

Snoopy Loopy is among a high-class entry of 11 for the bet365 Charlie Hall Chase, race three in the £100,000 Order of Merit, and his main opposition may come from the Paul Nicholls-trained What A Friend, who was sixth in last season’s RSA Chase at the Cheltenham Festival. The champion trainer has also entered Gwanako and Just Amazing, while Nigel Twiston Davies may be represented by last season’s runner-up and dual Charlie Hall Chase winner Ollie Magern, who triumphed in 2005 and 2007.

Other notable entries include the Evan Williams-trained pair of Mr Robert and Deep Purple, successful in a pair of Grade Two novice chases last term, and Irish raider Church Island, who was runner-up in the Irish Grand National earlier this year.

Saturday’s superb seven-race card also includes the £43,000 Grade Two John Smith's Hurdle (3.25pm) over three miles and a furlong, which has attracted 12 high-class entries including last year’s winner Pettifour, while 17 horses have been entered for the £40,000 Best Odds Guaranteed At bet365 Mares’ Hurdle (2.20pm), run over an extended two miles.

The two-day bet365 Charlie Hall Chase meeting takes place on Friday, October 30 and Saturday, October 31.

Friday’s highlight is the £25,000 Listed bet365.com Handicap Chase (2.40pm) over an extended two and a half miles, while the six-race card also features the £18,000 Listed Weatherbys Bank Wensleydale Juvenile Novices’ Hurdle (3.15pm) over two miles, half a furlong.

The going at Wetherby is currently good to firm, good in places (Watering).

Chief Executive and Clerk of the Course, Jonjo Sanderson, commented: “We have had a very damp day today, which wouldn’t have dried the track at all and we have applied 15mm to the entire track today.

The forecast is not indicating that we will receive any rain until Saturday morning at the latest and so we will continue to water the home bend and home straight on Wednesday and Thursday. However, despite the lack of rain the forecast is not for particularly drying weather.”

Sponsor’s latest prices for the bet365 Charlie Hall Chase: 5/2 Deep Purple, 10/3 What A Friend, 7/2 Ollie Magern, 7/2 Tamarinbleu, 9/1 Snoopy Loopy, 10/1 Gwanako, 12/1 Darkness, 12/1 Church Island, 14/1 Just Amazing, 33/1 Mr Robert, 40/1 Canada Street (each-way 1/5 the odds 1,2,3)

Tickets are available by calling the course on 01937 582035 or online at www.wetherbyracing.co.uk.