Now is the time for Nacarat to shine at Wetherby

NACARAT finally has conditions loaded in his favour for the bet365 Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby.

Tom George's gallant grey has not tasted success since his brilliant Racing Post Chase triumph last February, but looks to have been found an ideal opportunity with which to set the record straight.

Despite his winless streak, there have been excuses, as the nine-year-old was last season consistently hamstrung by soft ground.

Arguably his best performance of the year, however, was at Aintree in April when he finished third behind What A Friend in the totesport Bowl.

It is no coincidence that effort was achieved on genuinely good ground, which appears a given in Yorkshire.

Nacarat is a very positive front-runner when in the right frame of mind and, as such, will be in his element at Wetherby, where positive tactics can often yield similarly positive results.

Reported to be further ahead of schedule than the beginning of last term, he rates a solid selection to at least finish in the money.

Fair Along, meanwhile, can win back-to-back renewals of the John Smith's Hurdle. Now is the time to polarise interest in the Philip Hobbs-trained eight-year-old, who tends to come alive at this time of year. That was certainly the case 12 months ago when he jumped superbly before showing customary dash to land this Grade Two by a yawning 18 lengths.

Although he is perhaps susceptible to an up-and-coming animal, most of the protagonists in Yorkshire do not fall into that bracket. Good ground will also play to his considerable strengths.