Charlie Hall Chase 2026 Tips: Handstands Can Bounce Back And Upset Pic d'Orhy

The Charlie Hall Chase is the traditional curtain-raiser to the jumps season at Wetherby, and this year's renewal revolves around one 11 year old making his debut for a new trainer. Pic d'Orhy is the clear market leader, but Billy Grimshaw is not convinced he is the one to be on at the odds, and he works through the six-runner field before naming his best bet.

For more than half a century this has been the race that gets the jumps season going in earnest at Wetherby, and it has a long history of pointing the way towards the Gold Cup. This year's renewal looks more like a puzzle than a stepping stone, though, with just six runners, a favourite who has plenty to prove on his first run for a new yard and a field full of horses who each bring a question mark of their own. Pic d'Orhy heads the betting at around 11/8 and I can see exactly why punters have piled in, but I am not convinced he is a price I want to be taking in a race like this.

There is no doubting the ability. Pic d'Orhy won a dozen times for Paul Nicholls, including at the very top level, and when his owners moved their string out of Ditcheat in the spring he arrived at Dan Skelton's yard in the same colours. He is a machine when fresh, having won four of his last five seasonal reappearances, and only Djelo beat him in this race last year. He is also rated nine pounds clear of the field on the official ratings. The problem is that he is 11, he has never won beyond two and a half miles and he failed to win in four starts last season, so at that price there is precious little margin for error.

Nicholls has five wins in this race to his name and runs a pair in Hitman and Twinjets, both of whom have their uses. Hitman won the Old Roan Chase on his reappearance last autumn and is a lovely jumper when everything goes right, but he has not won in three runs since and ended last season on a sour note. Twinjets is a bold front-runner who was successful again at Ayr in April, but he has not been tested over three miles for some time and I would worry about him stopping late on. Skelton's second string Riskintheground was only sixth on his reappearance earlier this month and looks to be making up the numbers.

The Real Whacker is the one who could make life difficult for the market leaders. The 10 year old won this race in 2024 but was last of five, beaten 33 lengths, when defending his crown a year ago, and few would have blamed anyone for writing him off at that point. He has been revitalised this summer though, finishing third at Perth before making all the running there in September off a mark of 149, with a change of headgear appearing to do the trick. A small field and a proper gallop in front suits him down to the ground and Brian Hughes will make full use of that, but Twinjets is just as keen to get on with it and I suspect they will not be left alone for long.

That brings me to HANDSTANDS, who is the one I want to be with. A year ago he was being talked about as one of the better young chasers in the country, winning the Esher Novices' Chase over three miles at Sandown in December 2024 and then beating none other than Jango Baie in the Scilly Isles, the same horse who went on to win the Arkle and whom I backed in the King George with rather less success. It would be dishonest to pretend he has been anything other than a disappointment since, as he failed to win in any of his four starts last season, including an odds-on defeat at Carlisle and being pulled up after stopping quickly in first-time cheekpieces in the Ultima at the Festival.

I am happy to put that final run down to a one off, and the price is the reason I like him. At around 3/1 he runs off a mark of 153, a couple of pounds lower than at his best, against a favourite who is rated higher but is a veteran running for a new yard and has never won over this far. I also like the way the race should be run, as Twinjets and The Real Whacker will ensure a decent gallop which will find out anyone who does not stay, and HANDSTANDS is a bold jumper who has already won a Grade 2 over three miles.

Ben Jones sounds quietly excited, reporting that the horse's home work has been above average this autumn and that he is adamant he is bred to stay. Breathing problems have bothered him in the past, which may explain why he stopped so quickly at Cheltenham, so there is a chance he is a different horse now. Of course he has plenty to prove and could simply have lost his sparkle, which is why I would not be piling in, but with this much doubt attached to the favourite he looks the right way to play the race.

Pic d'Orhy rates the chief threat on class and there is no getting away from that, because a horse who wins first time up as often as he does cannot be dismissed lightly, even for all that I can pick holes in his profile at this trip. If he is good enough to prove me wrong then so be it, but at 11/8 I am more than happy to take him on. The Real Whacker and Twinjets could easily cut each other's throats in front, which would set things up nicely for a patiently ridden HANDSTANDS, and I am backing him to give Ben Pauling a big winner.