War favourite for Charlie Hall Chase

War Of Attrition has been installed as 3-1 favourite by the sponsors to win the bet365 Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby on Saturday, and Air Force may also take in the race.

The 2006 Cheltenham Gold Cup hero was a surprise entry in the Grade Two chase and his trainer Mouse Morris has every intention of running him, as long as the ground is suitable.

Morris' nine-year-old this month returned to action at Punchestown after nearly two years on the sidelines - but showed he has lost none of his dash by beating another former Gold Cup winner, Kicking King, by 19 lengths.

'It just depends on the state of the ground, that's all,' said Morris.

'He wants good ground anyway so as long is it is safe, good ground, he'll travel over. He's been in great nick since his last run and it's so far, so good with him. Davy Russell will ride him.'

The ground at Wetherby has been a talking point since part of the bend was realigned to accommodate the widening of the A1 motorway.

However, the track received favourable reviews on their first meeting of the season and has on Saturday received support from the likes of Paul Nicholls, David Pipe and Nicky Henderson.
Chief executive Jonjo Sanderson is delighted to have the presence of a former Gold Cup winner among the list of entries.

'I'm very pleased with the entries as a whole and it was a real bonus to see War Of Attrition in there,' said Sanderson.

'There's only 13 (in the Charlie Hall) but there were only 16 last year and we ended up with eight runners and if we have that again we'll be pleased.

'The response from the first meeting was generally positive and I was happy with how it went. I personally think the track is slightly better than it was for the first meeting and I hope we get the same sort of reaction after Friday and Saturday .

'It's good to firm, firm in places and we're watering at the moment - but I am being quite pessimistic calling it that. We called it firm, good to firm in places at the last meeting and quite a few jockeys told us it was nearer good to firm or good.

'We've had very little rain but I wanted to keep that firm in. However, I think it will better than it was for the last meeting as we had 10mm of rain at the weekend and we have been watering.

'I'm hopeful that at some stage this week I'll be able to drop the firm out of it, I just don't want to be too confident this early in the week. It was a real surprise to see War Of Attrition and we'll have to see if he runs.

'But it's pleasing Paul Nicholls has entries because he was a bit disappointed last year about how things went. Nicky Henderson and Nicky Richards also have entries, too, so hopefully we can win back a bit of confidence among the trainers.'

Ollie Magern will be back to defend his title as he attempts to win the race for a third time for in-form trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies.

'He's in good form and hopefully he'll put on anther good show,' said the Naunton trainer.

Charlie Mann identified the Charlie Hall as a possible race in Air Force One's preparation for a tilt at the Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup on November 29.

The Lambourn-based handler said: "We've entered Air Force One in the bet365 Charlie Hall Chase and I would like to get a run into him this weekend.

'He's also been entered in a handicap chase at Ascot and we will see how the entries compare before making our minds up. He's in good form and I have been pleased with him over the summer. He's strengthened up well and he's in good order.

'He looks great and we are looking forward to getting him to a racecourse. He sometimes needs his first run but I would still be looking to seeing him run well on his seasonal debut.

'The plan has always been the Hennessy and I hope this race would get him spot-on for Newbury next month.'