Royal Charm

Although it was only a beginners’ chase at Exeter, it was difficult not to be very impressed with the way Royal Charm won on his debut over fences, and he could be a live Arkle outsider now. Paul Nicholls’s gelding jumped immaculately and he was always travelling well for Noel Fehily, never once coming off the bridle. He took it up on his own after they jumped the third fence, travelled well within himself up front and he could have been called the winner before they jumped the fourth last. He was never asked to extend his lead and the winning margin, which was an impressive 22 lengths in the end, could easily have been a lot more.

Royal Charm looked like a useful recruit last season when he won a valuable handicap hurdle at Exeter, but it would appear that jumping fences is his game after this performance. This was a most impressive debut over fences from the son of Cadoudal. He jumped economically, which allowed him to travel with ease and the winning time was the fastest comparative time on the day. He is only a five-year-old, and this was just his sixth ever start so it is conceivable that here should be a lot more to come. His next stop could be the King Henry VIII chase on Tingle Creek day at Sandown, which is usually a tough jumping test for novices, so it should be right up his street.

9th November 2010