THE Rehearsal Chase, a traditional Cheltenham Gold Cup trial, has been switched from Chepstow to Newcastle on Saturday, November 26.

The valuable £60,000 Grade One event also has a brand new sponsor, Reuben Page, the North of England's longest-established bookmaker, and will now be known as the Pagebet Rehearsal Chase.

Past winners of the race include Master Oats and See More Business, both of whom went on to greater glory by scooping chasing's Blue Riband at the Cheltenham Festival.

Along with the Pertemps Fighting Fifth Hurdle, the three-mile Pagebet feature will televised on Channel 4, forming one of the top-rated National Hunt meetings in the North-East.

"We currently have 47 shops and three more in the pipeline, including one at Darlington, which we are hoping will be our fiftieth to open in the near future," said David Archer, managing director of Reuben Page.

"All of our betting business activities are being re-branded from Reuben Page to the Pagebet banner, a process which should be completed by the middle of 2006.

"The link up with Newcastle should generate extra business both for us and the racecourse, so we are delighted to be involved."

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