THE clocks have gone back and the nights are drawing in, but for jump racing enthusiasts, Saturday’s Charlie Hall Chase day at Wetherby is the point at which the final vestiges of summer disappear and winter officially begins.

Always one of the high points of the northern racing calendar, this year’s card is verging on the spectacular with some of the biggest names in National Hunt racing starting their season in West Yorkshire.

The Charlie Hall Chase itself takes top billing, named after the local Champion Hurdle-winning trainer who was based at Towton and boasting a list of former winners that includes Wayward Lad, Burrough Hill Lad, Forgive ‘N’ Forget, One Man and See More Business.

This year’s field is headed by the 2012 winner, Silviniaco Conti, who finished fourth in last year’s Cheltenham Gold Cup after looking the likeliest winner heading to the last.

Paul Nicholls’ chaser, who is the current ante-post favourite for Saturday’s race at around 7-4, is being aimed at another Gold Cup tilt next March, and while a number of Nicholls’ runners have needed their seasonal debut this month, the former champion trainer is confident Silviniaco Conti is ready to do himself justice on a track that has enabled him to play to his strengths in the past.

“The plan is for Silviniaco Conti to run, and he is fit enough and goes well fresh,” said Nicholls, who is likely to hand riding duties to Noel Fehily, with Sam Twiston-Davies set to travel to Ireland for a card at Down Royal.

“Last year, he needed his run back in the Betfair but still ran well (when he was third to Cue Card), and he is more in the shape he was two years ago when he won the Charlie Hall. We had two winners at Wincanton on Sunday and Silviniaco Conti is straight enough.”

Silviniaco Conti’s leading opponent is likely to be First Lieutenant, although Mouse Morris is still deciding whether to run the nine-year-old on good ground that will have been watered for the majority of the week.

Jonjo O’Neill’s Taquin Du Seuil is another interesting runner, with Saturday’s race intended to prove whether last season’s JLT Novices’ Chase winner is capable of staying the Gold Cup distance.

Having finished a disappointing third behind Wonderful Charm at Newton Abbot earlier this month, Taquin Du Seuil will be on something of a retrieval mission, but he remains one of the most exciting chasers stepping out of the novice division this season.

“We thought about going for the Paddy Power Gold Cup after he finished third at Newton Abbot, but at some stage we have to find out if he’s going to stay three miles to be a contender for the Gold Cup,” said O’Neill, in a recent Racing Post stable guide. “The Charlie Hall is probably the best way of exploring that angle at this stage of the season.”

Menorah, The Giant Bolster and Medermit also feature amongst Saturday’s entries, although the ground is likely to prevent Harry Topper defending the crown he claimed 12 months ago.

“It’s unlikely he will run,” said his trainer, Kim Bailey. “I need rain not good ground with watering, and without it he will sadly be staying at home. He seems better than he was going into the race last year – I haven’t seen him as well as he is at the moment.”

The Charlie Hall is not the only big race on this weekend’s Wetherby programme, as the Bet 365 Hurdle has attracted a ten-strong entry that is packed with class.

Last year’s World Hurdle winner, More Of That, will make his seasonal reappearance in the 3m 1f staying test, with a defence of his Cheltenham title the long-term aim of his trainer, O’Neill.

There had been a suggestion of the six-year-old switching to chasing, but with Big Buck’s having left the staying hurdle ranks and Annie Power likely to tackle the Mares’ Hurdle at Cheltenham instead of Thursday’s long-distance feature, More Of That will continue to tackle the smaller obstacles.

“It’s been decided we’ll stick to hurdling and he will reappear at Wetherby this weekend,” confirmed O’Neill. “If all goes well at Wetherby, I’d think his target before Christmas would be the Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot.

“He’s still only six and lightly raced, so the plan will be to look after him with another crack at the World Hurdle at the forefront of everybody’s mind.”

World Hurdle third, At Fishers Cross, is due to renew rivalries with More Of That, although given that JP McManus owns both horses, it remains to be seen whether they cross swords at the weekend.

Nicholls’ Zarkandar should feature, along with Alan King’s Medinas and Phillip Hobbs’ talented Fingal Bay.

Malcolm Jefferson’s Oscar Rock will represent North Yorkshire as he looks to improve on last season’s campaign that saw him fail to build on some early promise.