bet365 Charlie Hall Chase |
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| Grade 3 Handicap, Wetherby 14:58 £100,000 guaranteed, 5yo plus, 3m 45y, Class 1  |
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1 Djelo 11/4
2
Pic D''Orhy 5/1
3 Ga Law
13/2
5 ran NR: Protektorat Distances: 1l, 21l, 6l
Time: 5m 57.31s (fast by 8.69s)
Djelo comes out on top in the @bet365 Charlie Hall Chase 🥇
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) November 1, 2025
A gallant effort by Pic D'orhy in second 👏@WetherbyRaces pic.twitter.com/1hJ2U1EdAd
Djelo hinted at still bigger stages ahead as he edged out Pic D’Orhy in a pulsating finish at Wetherby. Only seven and with his best days arguably still in front of him, Venetia Williams’ chaser was quickly clipped into 16-1 for the King George VI Chase after proving his stamina over the full three miles — form that places him firmly among the leading British hopes for Boxing Day.
He had dominated the market for much of the afternoon following Protektorat’s withdrawal on account of the ground, but late money surged for Hewick, the former King George winner. In the event, Hewick never travelled with any real fluency and was beaten long before the race began in earnest.
Pic D’Orhy, under Harry Cobden, attempted to control matters from the front and for a long time looked to be enjoying himself. But Djelo ranged up to challenge approaching the last, survived a rather daring leap, and pulled out enough to score by a length — and in doing so gave Williams her first winner of the new season.
“He’s an exciting horse,” she said. “I’m thrilled. It was quite a fight, wasn’t it.
“I thought when he got there he was going to win, but then I thought he was going to be beaten. Pic D’Orhy is obviously a very talented horse.
“These horses don’t usually have a specific distance, they can be just as good at two and a half miles as three. He saw that out well.
“It’s easy to forget he’s still only seven and he has achieved a lot already, hopefully he’s going to go on again.
“I think we’ve got to go back for the Peterborough Chase which I know is a step back in trip, but he’s as effective at it.”
When asked about the King George, Williams replied: “One step at a time.”
Winning rider Charlie Deutsch added: “Fair play to Pic D’Orhy because when I joined him I thought he was beat, but he actually kept fighting.
“I didn’t see an amazing stride at the last so we had to go for a long one and he was brave. We didn’t jump it particularly well but we were over it quickly.
“It’s great that he’s a seven-year-old and he’s still progressing. He stayed three miles at Newbury when he won the Denman Chase but I was a little bit worried, just because he’s such a keen-going horse and I didn’t want him doing too much.”
Paul Nicholls, meanwhile, was more than satisfied with Pic D’Orhy’s effort and already has his path mapped out.
He said: “I’m thrilled. It was a proper race, they were a mile in front of the rest. I really thought he’d go well and he stayed all the way to the line. The winner is an improving, young horse but he’s a good horse too.
“I’d say we’ll go for the Ascot race in three weeks (1965 Chase) as he likes it there or the other option is the Peterborough. We won’t go for the King George, he’ll go for the Silviniaco Conti instead and then back to Ascot for the Ascot Chase.
“It just so happens those races aren’t three miles, but he does stay. He just lost a bit of momentum four out, that could have made the difference but we’ve no excuses, they are two good horses.”
Bet365 Charlie Hall Chase
£100,000 guaranteed, 5yo plus, 3m 45y, Class 1
5 ran
Going: Good
POS. DIST HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY SP
1 Djelo 7 11-10 Venetia Williams Charlie Deutsch 11/4
2 1 Pic D'Orhy 10 11-10 Paul Nicholls Harry Cobden 5/1
3 21 Ga Law 9 11-4 Jamie Snowden Jonathan Burke 13/2
4 6 Hewick 10 11-4 John Joseph Hanlon Gavin Sheehan 2/1F
5 4¾ The Real Whacker 9 11-10 Patrick Neville Brian Hughes 9/2
NR
Protektorat 10 11-4 Dan Skelton NON RUNNER
