Bryony Frost has two wins from her last two races on horses from Paul Nicholls’ yard.
In light of the news that previous favourite Thistlecrack would not be featuring in the race Charlie Hall Chase on Saturday due to unsuitable ground conditions at Wetherby, punters have flocked to the new market leader.
Bryony Frost has been in fine form for Paul Nicholls lately, with wins on both Frodon and Eason last week. The seven-win record she boasts aboard Black Corton is particularly impressive. The most recent of those came as the seven-year-old beat Ms Parfois by eight lengths at Ascot in February.
Despite disappointing results at Cheltenham and Aintree since then, the notable absentees from Saturday’s race have encouraged punters to back what is likely to be Paul Nicholls’ entry for the Charlie Hall Chase on Saturday.
Black Corton has been cut from 7/1 to a current best price of 2/1, with 55% of bets on this race going on him in the last 24 hours.
Like Thistlecrack, with some rain forecast but not enough to change conditions dramatically, last year’s winner Bristol De Mai is also unlikely to make an appearance. Nigel Twiston-Davies’ charge has drifted out from 7/2 to 5/1 in the market as a result.
Meanwhile, Black Corton’s stablemate Clan Des Obeaux was also initially being touted for Wetherby on Saturday. However, as with the others, the going has swung Nicholls’ decision in favour of Black Corton instead.
2017 King George runner-up Double Shuffle is likely to be another to keep an eye on after not making it to last year’s race due to travel problems. Tom George’s gelding struggled with the ground at Aintree and Sandown recently, but the forecast for Saturday has blown this field wide open for him. The eight-year-old is second in the market, available at a best price of 11/4.
Oddschecker spokesperson George Elek: “The Charlie Hall Chase is always entertaining, but this year’s is set to be a cracker with the uncertainty surrounding the runners.”
“With the current forecast it looks like it could be Black Corton and Double Shuffle fighting it out at the front, but we will have to wait and see who is declared.”
