Road to Cheltenham previews five hurdlers and chasers to follow ahead of the new jumps season and shares a 50/1 Each-Way Tip for Cheltenham 2027.
It’s great to be back writing for Oddschecker again this season and I can’t wait for the jumps season to get underway.
The weather has been wreaking havoc ahead of Chepstow this weekend but the powers that be have acted quickly and effectively to ensure the official opening of the National Hunt season takes place.
While there are no chase races over the three-day meeting, the Welsh Racing Festival is set to whet the appetite for the new campaign.
But for now, I’m focusing on the 2026/27 jumps season and readers can find my horses for the tracker AND an early selection for next year’s Cheltenham Festival. So, let’s get down to business – starting with five hurdlers to follow.
HURDLERS TO FOLLOW
CHARME DE FAUST (Willie Mullins)
Rated 132 over hurdles in Ireland, I’m expecting Charme De Faust to be given a quiet enough campaign before targeting the spring festivals. It’s always a tough year for the 4-year-olds and Willie Mullins often gives these types plenty of time to adjust.
With connections suggesting that a step up in trip may be on the cards, I’d be looking at her for a nice handicap in the spring. She has the rating for something like a Martin Pipe but who’s to say that she won’t go on to compete at Graded level.
RED ACRES MAX (Jamie Snowden)
A £240,000 purchase at the Coral Gold Cup sale last November, Red Acres Max made two appearances under rules in the second half of the campaign – finishing second behind expensive pointer Minella Premier before getting off the mark with a facile success at Carlisle.
This Maxios gelding ran to a decent level on both outings and Jamie Snowden has hinted that he’ll step up in trip. All being well, he could follow the likes of Wendigo and Tiptoptim and head to Newbury for the Grade 1 Challow Novices Hurdle in December.
TECHNO DAVIS (Joseph O’Brien)
I’m hugely excited to see Techno Davis this season, particularly with another summer of growing under his belt. Given an educational ride at Punchestown in April, he made up ground in the closing stages and there was plenty of promise in the run.
Bought for €160,000 as a store, he can live up to his lofty reputation. By No Risk At All, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see him step up in trip as the season goes on. He’s priced at 100/1 to win the Turners Novices Hurdle and I’ve seen worse 100/1 shots than him.
WINSTON JUNIOR (Faye Bramley)
It’ll be interesting to see how Winston Junior is campaigned this season but you can be sure that The Cheeky Pups will have a plan. A son of Churchill, it’s hard to see him going chasing and he looks fairly treated off a hurdles mark of 138 to me.
Saratoga is now rated 146 following his Grade 1 victory at Punchestown and many are touting him as a Champion Hurdle dark horse. With that in mind, I wonder if Winston Junior could head to Cheltenham for the Greatwood Hurdle – he would be on my shortlist for that race.
CHASERS TO FOLLOW
CRYSTAL ISLAND (Nicky Henderson)
An exciting prospect for novice chases this year, Crystal Island missed the spring festivals but finished his season on a high with a convincing success at Ffos Las – and a quieter novice hurdle campaign may prove beneficial down the line.
He’s a little under the radar heading into the campaign but he looks a real chaser in the making and I think he’s a proper horse. He relaxes well into his races and he could be a real Brown Advisory type come the spring – more on that a little later on.
DIG DEEP (Ben Pauling)
I was a little disappointed with Dig Deep over hurdles as I expected him to compete at Graded level but he can make up for lost time when he goes novice chasing. In fact, I’d be astonished if Dig Deep isn’t rated higher than 121 by the end of the season.
A son of Poet’s Word and out of an Old Vic mare, his pedigree screams chasing and I am hoping to see him get off the mark in a low-key affair before taking in a Graded race.
KADASTRAL (Dan Skelton)
Given a very quiet time of things as a novice hurdler, Kadastral has some smart bumper form on his CV and he is another who looks well handicapped off 125. Set to go novice chasing this year, he can make hay while the ground remains decent.
His trainer made a comment that stuck with me after his win at Newbury in December, suggesting that this gelding could be a much better chaser than a hurdler. With another year of growing into his frame, he may well be the complete package this year.
SPINNINGAYARN (Gordon Elliott)
Last but not least, I’ve always felt that Spinningayarn was a chaser in the making and he is set to go novice chasing this season. He ran a massive race in the Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle and can compete at Graded level again this campaign.
Things didn’t go to plan for him at Punchestown but you can put a line through that run and we should see a much better, more complete horse over a fence. I’m not sure if he is necessarily a Grade 1 horse but he can hold his own at Grade 2 level.
CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL 2027 ANTE-POST SELECTION
So the first selection in my ante-post portfolio is CRYSTAL ISLAND and I’m taking the 50/1 available for him in the Brown Advisory. I was hugely taken by him at Ascot and – while the form of that race isn’t the strongest – he looked like a star in the making to me, defying a big drift in the betting to win going away.
He should have no problem whatsoever getting three miles and Nicky Henderson has won the Brown Advisory Novices Chase on four occasions, most recently with Champ in 2020. If he lines up in a mid-distance Beginners Chase and wins, he won’t be anywhere near 50/1 if he wins – so I’d recommend taking that price before chase debut.
Best Bet: CRYSTAL ISLAND in the Brown Advisory Novices Chase - 0.5pts E/W
Best odds of 50/1 at William Hill at the time of writing.
