Ginger Joe picks out five horses entered this week that have caught his eye.
This week’s notable entries list is a proper mixed bag and that’s exactly how you want it. I’ve picked out five horses, all with very different profiles, but each one interesting in their own right. There’s a former Cheltenham Festival winner who could be shaping up for a tilt at the Grand National, a couple of seriously smart French recruits who bring that proven depth of form from across the water, and some unraced types boasting absolutely dynamite pedigrees.
It’s the kind of week where you’re not just looking at the next run, you’re actually thinking months ahead. Future targets, long-term campaigns, and horses who could easily be lining up in the biggest races later in the season. There’s plenty to get stuck into, so open up the tracker as these five horses are firmly on my radar.
TAHAA - Joseph O’Brien
(5yo m) Beaumac De Houelle x La Pinede
Form: 1-F
Thurles, Thursday 19th February - Listed Mares Novices Chase 2m5f+
I’ve been really taken by Tahaa ever since her debut at Compiegne, and she is a proper dark horse for the future. She was thrown straight over hurdles first time out with no experience, and she shaped exactly like you’d expect.
She was novicey at plenty of her obstacles, diving at a few hurdles, sticky at others, and if there was a metric for jumping IQ in France, she wouldn’t have posted much of a figure. But there is an engine in this mare.
She was headed before three out, fought back to regain the lead before the last, then fluffed the final flight, she was passed again on the run in, and still found more. She dug in, rallied for the lead a second time, and went by to score by two lengths. To win despite that amount of untidiness over her obstacles tells you her raw ability is likely to be above average.
It didn’t take long for her to be snapped up by Robcour and sent to Joseph O’Brien. What I loved most was the next move for new connections. Rather than giving her a confidence building run in an ordinary hurdle, they pitched her straight into a Grade 2 chase over the larger obstacles.
That’s a serious statement for a mare having just her second career start and making her yard debut. You simply don’t do that unless she’s been showing plenty at home.
That run came at Cork Racecourse against the already proven high-class mares Kala Conti and Kargese, and she went off at 25/1. Again, her jumping was very much that of a novice, with a big mistake at the first, and while it did tidy up a little, she was clearly learning on the job.
Even so, she’d moved into third behind the two graded mares before coming down two out, but there is plenty to like about that. She’s inexperienced, and that side of her game should improve with time and experience.
The fact connections have declared her for a Listed chase at Thurles this week on her first start since that fall, tells you they still hold her in high regard. I’m not saying she wins next time. But Joseph O’Brien clearly thinks a lot of her already.
With more experience and cleaner jumping, she could easily develop into a very smart mare. This is a mare flying under the radar, and one woorth having in your trackers for now.
LECKY WATSON - Willie Mullins
(8yo m) Valirann x Anno Whyte
Form: 1-F77P
Fairyhouse, Saturday 21st February - Bobbyjo Chase (Grade 3) 3m2f
Last season’s Cheltenham Festival Brown Advisory winner Lecky Watson is one I’ll be watching very closely this season. He’s been highly tried throughout his career and, while he doesn’t immediately scream Gold Cup horse, that doesn’t mean he can’t be aimed at something equally significant.
In fact, a campaign towards the Grand National would make plenty of sense. He’s a sound, measured jumper, and that’s one major box ticked off for Aintree straight away. With connections seemingly of the view that he isn’t quite a Cheltenham Gold Cup type, it does give the impression this season could be structured around one major target in April 2026.
What I particularly like is that the decision appears to have been made early. When a yard commits to a plan from the outset, it usually means every run has purpose, every step is deliberate. That kind of preparation matters for a race like the National.
There’s no doubt he has class, and you need that nowadays. The National isn’t the lottery it once was, you have to be a proper horse.
Stamina of course is the other key ingredient, but I don’t see that being an issue. His pedigree offers plenty of encouragement in that department. There are staying influences throughout the pedigree, and notably his sire Valirann also produced Val Dancer, winner of the Welsh Grand National in 2024. That’s a strong pointer that stamina won’t be an issue.
If you caught my early season preview, you’ll know I’ve liked Lecky Watson for a while. When you piece it all together, the jumping, the class, the pedigree, the likely stamina, and the carefully mapped out plan, Lecky Watson needs to be on your radar.
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GRANGECLARE PARK - Gordon Elliott
(5yo g) Walk In The Park x Burkes Lady
Form: 1-3
Naas, Sunday, 22nd February - National Hunt Flat Race 1m7f+
Grangeclare Park arrived from the point-to-point field with a big reputation, and it wasn’t hard to see why. He bolted up by 18 lengths at Curraghmore and was handed an RPR of 95 for the effort.
I’m not someone who leans too heavily on RPRs, but in the point-to-point sphere you don’t have a great deal else to measure them by, and if that figure is even close to accurate, he has serious upside for the National Hunt game. He was snapped up by KTDA Racing and sent to Gordon Elliott, which in itself tells you plenty.
On his rules debut at Fairyhouse things didn’t quite pan out. The race developed into more of a sprint, which wouldn’t have suited him at all. He travelled strongly for a long way but did come off the bridle quickly when the tempo lifted.
What I liked though, was how he stuck at it. To keep battling and be beaten just over three lengths in a scenario that didn’t play to his strengths was encouraging. Elliott has said before that he doesn’t overcook his bumper horses early too, so he’s happy to give them time to strengthen and mature. So there’s every chance we see a very different animal as he develops.
In many ways, he gives me shades of Romeo Coolio for the same owner-trainer combination. You could see the ability early on, but you always felt chasing would unlock another level. I get a similar impression here.
There’s talent there, but his long-term future looks over fences. He’s well worth keeping tabs on through his bumper and novice hurdle campaigns though, because this could easily be a seriously smart chaser in the making. The big money purchase will turn into a smart one.
MAJOLIQUE - Willie Mullins
(4yo f) Tigron x Voix Romain
Form: 1-
Naas, Sunday, 22nd February - Juvenile Hurdle 2m
There are two entries on Sunday for newcomer Majolique, and this is a fillly I have been looking forward to seeing this season. I’d label her as a real dark horse for the future.
She's in training with Mullins, and Kenny Alexander purchased her after she made a strong impression on debut at Longchamp. It was a well-run race with a strong pace, and she managed to quicken up stylishly to win.
The runner-up, an odds-on favourite owned by the Aga Khan, has since performed well in a Class 1, and I think Majolique beat her more convincingly than the bare winning margin suggests. She could be anything, and she’s definitely one I’m keeping a close eye on.
Potential star quality in this juvenile, and I wouldn't at all be surprised if she turned out to be one of the better recruits this year, albeit her Closutton debut is coming too close for Cheltenham. She is still worth keeping in the tracker, she is potentially class.
By Tigron, and out of a Cokoriko Dam is a combination I like a lot.
