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Becher Chase |
totesport Becher Chase Among State of Play's Options
17/11/09
After taking fourth in last season’s John Smith’s Grand National, State Of Play could return to Aintree for the £100,000 Listed totesport.com Becher Handicap Chase (1.45pm), highlight of the second day of the Northwest Racing Masters on Sunday, November 22.
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A total of 24 horses were entered for this leading trial for the world’s most famous steeplechase, the John Smith’s Grand National, run over three and a quarter miles of the famous Grand National course.
Trained by Evan Williams, State Of Play landed the competitive Betfair.com Handicap Chase on the Mildmay course at the John Smith’s Grand National meeting in April, 2006, before going on to glory in the Grade Three Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury that November.
The nine-year-old has contested some of the leading staying chases in Britain and Ireland, including when coming sixth behind Kauto Star in the 2007 Cheltenham Gold Cup. He landed the Grade Two Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby last November prior to taking fourth behind Mon Mome at Aintree.
Williams revealed: “The Becher Chase is an option for State Of Play at the moment. We also gave him an entry in the “Fixed Brush” Handicap Hurdle and he’s in the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury as well.
“The original plan was to give him a couple of starts over hurdles and then go for the Grand National. But he is so well with himself at the moment that we wanted to give him entries over fences. Chasing is his game but I just wanted to see what the handicapper would do with him over hurdles.
“He jumped so well in the Grand National last season that it would have been silly not to give him the option of the Becher Chase. I had thought that he wouldn’t be ready to race until Christmas time but he seems fresh, happy and well so we gave him the entries and keep on eye on them.
“I actually thought that he was going to win the Grand National at one stage but he made a mistake and got shuffled back through the field. It was still a great performance by a great little horse.
“He has won on soft ground so it wouldn’t be too much of a concern for us. He’s very well and we look forward to hopefully seeing him in action at either Aintree or Haydock over the weekend.”
Champion trainer Paul Nicholls has entered Hoo La Baloo and Nozic, who had State Of Play back in third when scoring in the Grade Three Rowland Meyrick Chase at Wetherby in December, while the in-form Nigel Twiston-Davies is set to run last season’s John Smith’s Topham Chase victor Irish Raptor and Scottish Grand National winner Hello Bud.
A strong Irish potential challenge of seven includes the Gordon Elliott-trained Silver Birch, one of only two horses to have followed up victory in the totesport.com Becher Chase with success in the John Smith’s Grand National. He may bid for a third victory over the National fences. Dessie Hughes, successful 12 months ago with Black Apalachi, could go for back-to-back victories with Vic Venturi, a Grade Two scorer over hurdles as a novice, while Charlie Swan may be represented by Grade One scorers One Cool Cookie and Offshore Account, who was 15th in last season’s John Smith’s Grand National.
Other notable entries include the Philip Hobbs-trained Parsons Legacy and Can’t Buy Time, from the stable of Jonjo O’Neill, who both fell in last season’s John Smith’s Grand National, and the Howard Johnson-trained pair of Abbeybraney and Companero.
Latest betting from totesport on the totesport.com Becher Chase: 7 Vic Venturi, 8 State Of Play, 9 Offshore Account, 10 Abbeybraney, Companero, Irish Raptor, Nozic, 11 Can’t Buy Time, 12 A New Story, Hello Bud, One Cool Cookie, 14 Keenan’s Future, 16 Idle Talk, Pak Jack, Palypso De Creek, Silver Birch, 20 Always Waining, Hoo La Baloo, Parsons Legacy, Valley Ride, 25 Royal Rosa, 33 Cleni Boy, Trotsky, 100 Runshan
Sunday’s six-race programme at Aintree also features the £70,000 totesuper7 Grand Sefton Handicap Chase (12.35pm) over the Grand National fences. An entry of 26 for the two mile, five furlong contest includes Brooklyn Brownie, who finished runner-up behind Endless Power in last year’s contest and the smart Bible Lord from the yard of Grand National-winning trainer Andy Turnell. Paul Nicholls could run Oslot, successful in the 2008 Galway Plate.
