HORSES TO FOLLOW 2023/24
The new National Hunt season is just around the corner and racing enthusiasts up and down the country will be trying to find the young horses looking to burst onto the scene.
The Cotswolds is a haven for racing yards with local trainers all eyeing the ultimate prizes at the biggest race meetings.
We have managed to tie down expert Paul Ferguson to give you his 10 horses from the Cotswolds that you should be following this season.
Now in its 17th year of publication and once again sponsored by Fitzdares, Paul Ferguson's Jumpers To Follow is an essential tool to guide you through the entire National Hunt season.
The Cotswolds is a haven for racing yards with local trainers all eyeing the ultimate prizes at the biggest race meetings.
We have managed to tie down expert Paul Ferguson to give you his 10 horses from the Cotswolds that you should be following this season.
Now in its 17th year of publication and once again sponsored by Fitzdares, Paul Ferguson's Jumpers To Follow is an essential tool to guide you through the entire National Hunt season.
CUTHBERT DIBBLE
Nigel Twiston-Davies
This five-year-old was kept busy last term, running in a brace of bumpers before running five times over hurdles. He shaped well on a couple of occasions during the first half of the season, but came into his own once stepped up in distance after Christmas. A winner on soft ground at both Leicester and Ffos Las, he ran well when finishing fifth in the ultra-competitive EBF Final and looks to be a typical Nigel Twiston-Davies inmate, in that he could improve again for going chasing.
DYSART ENOS
Fergal O’Brien
Runner-up to Fancy Girl (bumper winner for Willie Mullins) in an Irish Point, she flew home to win a bumper at Ludlow under Conor Brace and also finished strongly when lowering the colours of the hitherto unbeaten Queens Gamble in Listed company at Market Rasen. She put up an even more impressive display to win the Grade 2 Nickel Coin at Aintree – where she travelled supremely well to the front, before running out a striking 9-length winner – and she now rates a very exciting prospect for novice hurdles against her own sex.
EL RIO
Kim Bailey
An Irish Points winner last November, he looked all set to make a winning debut under Rules at Chepstow, where he was a length to the good when coming down at the final flight. He readily made amends at Ascot in early-April, scoring with ease and given how late in the season he shed his maiden tag, the six-year-old remains a novice over hurdles until the end of November. With that in mind, he could be aimed at something like the Persian War in the early part of the season, although he showed a tendency to jump right on both starts and it will be interesting to see if that is something that continues to be evident. A chaser on looks, he races quite exuberantly, so might be best over an intermediate trip for the time being.
GO TO WAR
Fergal O’Brien
The second novice hurdler to note from Ravenswell Farm, this good-looking son of Soldier Of Fortune made a winning start in bumpers at Uttoxeter, where he came from off the pace to beat a subsequent winner on good ground. Only eighth at Aintree, he didn’t enjoy the best of luck (hampered) and it was his first start in 169 days, so he can readily be given another chance over hurdles. Although he is bred to relish a longer trip – being a half-brother to Jonjo O’Neill’s smart stayer, Flight Deck – he doesn’t look devoid of pace, so should be quick enough to start off over 2m.
HASTHING
Jonjo O'Neill
Another who ran in the Weatherbys-sponsored bumper at Aintree on Grand National day, he finished just over 5 lengths in front of Go To War in third place and again marked himself down as a decent prospect for novice hurdles. Twice a winner in France, he had shaped with considerable promise – under a double-penalty – on his British debut at Uttoxeter, where he raced wide up the straight and only went down by a length, whilst conceding 10lbs to the winner. Already a six-year-old, he shapes as though going up in distance will suit and should come into his own over 2m4f and beyond.
HERCULES MORSE
Ben Pauling
An imposing son of Blue Bresil, he didn’t race in Point-to-Points or bumpers and given that he had just the three starts over hurdles last season, looks open to any amount of improvement. Twice an eye-catcher when third at both Worcester and Ffos Las, he returned to South Wales to run out a taking winner of a maiden hurdle in January and wasn’t seen thereafter. He was declared to run at Ludlow in April, but the ground was deemed unsuitable, so he remains completely unexposed and looks a bright prospect for novice handicap chases, from an opening mark of 119.
JOHNNYWHO
Jonjo O'Neill
Another six-year-old who will represent the Jackdaws Castle team and JP McManus in the novice hurdle division, he was a hugely impressive winner of an Irish Point (had Hermes Allen back in third, it should be remembered) and belied a lay-off of 515 days when winning a Taunton bumper in a canter in late-March. Given both his pedigree and that he powered through heavy ground on his Rules debut, he is also likely to appreciate stepping up in distance, but he remains an exciting prospect and one who could easily be contesting Graded races before too long.
SAINT DAVY
Jonjo O'Neill
Endured a frustrating campaign last season, as his runs were very spaced out and we only got to see him twice over hurdles. A bumper winner at Carlisle, he travelled well en route to winning on hurdles debut at Chepstow over Christmas, but was then side-lined until running in the Sefton Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree. Running in a Grade 1 on just your second start – at that time of the season – is never easy, but he can improve upon that once sent chasing this winter. Another former Irish Point-to-Point winner, he starts the season rated 124, so is another for novice handicaps to begin with.
THE KEMBLE BREWERY
Kim Bailey
Only four, he ran out a most encouraging winner of a Huntingdon bumper in the spring, marking himself down as another nice prospect for hurdles. Quite green when asked to pick up at the top of the home straight, he readily drew clear inside the final quarter-mile, with the further he went, the better he looked. He ought to improve appreciably for that experience and with another summer behind him, looks open to considerable improvement. Whilst he is likely to be hurdling before too long, it is possible that Kim Bailey will consider running him in another bumper, possibly at Cheltenham in either October or November.
TRELAWNE
Kim Bailey
Another from Thorndale Farm to conclude the list, with this lightly-raced seven-year-old another for the novice chase division. A soft ground specialist, he won both starts last season and has won three of his four hurdle races to date. A strong-galloping son of Geordieland, he is likely to be best served by big, expansive tracks and is very much one to keep onside in the depths of the winter, when the ground is testing.