Wetherby Racecourse

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Fair Along Primed For a John Smith’s Hurdle Repeat
21/10/10

Fair Along will bid to reprise his impressive victory of 12 months ago in the £32,500 Grade Two John Smith’s Hurdle (2.50pm), when he again lines up for the three-mile, one-furlong Wetherby contest on Saturday, October 30.

The John Smith’s Hurdle is one of the highlights at the West Yorkshire track’s two-day bet365 Charlie Hall Meeting, which takes place on Friday, October 29, and Saturday, October 30.

Fair Along (white cap)
© racing-images.co.uk

The Philip Hobbs-trained Fair Along powered clear of a high-class field to win the 2009 renewal by 18 lengths from the previous year’s victor, the Nigel Twiston-Davies-trained Pettifour, and has kept his powder dry by sidestepping a major Flat target recently.

Hobbs, who also saddled Brother Joe (2002) to win the race, revealed this morning: “The plan is for Fair Along to go to Wetherby again. He is fine and in really good order at the moment, so we are looking forward to going there with him.

“He was entered in the Cesarewitch on the Flat last week but we thought that, at his age, he didn’t really need to be doing that, so we gave it a miss and kept him fresh.

“It was a great thrill last year when he won the John Smith’s Hurdle the way he did. It is the race in the calendar when the conditions are all more or less right for him, so he will go there again and he should run another good race.”

Tidal Bay
© racing-images.co.uk

Plenty of Jump racing’s superstars have won the John Smith’s Hurdle, most notably the great triple Ladbrokes World Hurdle hero Inglis Drever, who landed the prize in 2005 for trainer Howard Johnson.

The County Durham handler is set to run the top-class Tidal Bay in the John Smith’s Hurdle for Inglis Drever’s owners Andrea and Graham Wylie.

Mary Reveley saddled the top-class hurdler/chaser Cab On Target to victory in both 1991 and 1995, while Pridwell defeated Mistinguett in 1997 before famously defeating the great Istabraq in the following season’s Grade One Aintree Hurdle. Another Grade One winner, Black Jack Ketchum, landed the spoils in 2007.

The two-day meeting’s main event is the £100,000 Grade Two bet365 Charlie Hall Chase (3.25pm) over three miles and a furlong on Saturday, October 30, which could see the Evan Williams-trained Deep Purple bid for a repeat victory, having landed the prize in 2009.

The gelding snatched the verdict by a head from Tamarinbleu 12 months ago, with dual bet365 Charlie Hall Chase winner Ollie Magern (2005 & 2007) back in third. Ollie Magern will bid for an unprecedented third triumph this year, while last season’s high-class novice Knockara Beau, Irish raider China Rock and Nacarat are others with the race on their radars.

A seven-race card on Saturday also features the £30,000 Listed bet365 Mares’ Hurdle (2.15pm) over an extended two miles.

A six-race card on day one of the bet365 Charlie Hall Meeting, Friday, October 29, includes the extended two and a half-mile £20,000 Listed bet365 Handicap Chase (3.20pm) and the £15,000 Listed Weatherbys Bank Wensleydale Juvenile Hurdle (3.55pm), over an extended two miles.

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