THERE is simply no let-up in National Hunt racing. No sooner had the curtain come down on the 2024/’25 season at Punchestown last Saturday, than the next campaign was underway at Down Royal on Monday. It’s a wheel that keeps on turning.
The season just gone has had its fair share of highs and lows, all of which were discussed in detail in the latest edition of The Racing Edge podcast from The Irish Field team this week.
Much of the chat was spent reviewing the big performances and talking points from recent months, with one eye ahead to the new season, but it can be easy to lose sight of horses we haven’t seen in action of late. Here are three horses who were absent from the spring festivals, but could be a shade forgotten about right now heading into 2025/’26.
The Jukebox Man
(Ben Pauling)
It’s hard to say that the 2023/’24 novice hurdlers were an elite bunch, but The Jukebox Man was right up there with the best of them at staying distances and made a brilliant start to life over fences last winter.
Having created a smashing impression on his chasing bow at Newbury in November, beating Masaccio, Johnnywho, Captain Teague and Boombawn in the Grade 2 John Francome Novices’ Chase, Harry Redknapp’s strong stayer then progressed to take out the Grade 1 Kauto Star Novices’ Chase at Kempton at the expense of Hyland. Those looked pretty useful performances.
The previous season’s narrow Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle second was a general 5/1 to go one better at this year’s Cheltenham Festival in the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase, but he was unfortunately ruled out for the rest of the season in late January after sustaining an injury during routine exercise.
However disappointing that would have been for the Ben Pauling team, especially when 4/7 favourite Ballyburn blew out in the Brown Advisory, it has to be a positive that age is on The Jukebox Man’s side. He’s still only seven and a statement from Pauling at the time noted that “the feedback from our veterinary team and the specialists is positive that we can look forward to seeing him return in the autumn”.
Having looked an improving chaser before his setback - and given the British staying novice chasing division looked light enough in his absence this term - it mightn’t be unrealistic to see him developing into one of the better operators in senior staying chases this coming season.
If he got a run in advance to blow away any cobwebs, he could look a massive player in the Coral Gold Cup off his mark of 151 (currently 20/1 for that big handicap back at Newbury). A big chunk of improvement is clearly required to get close to the likes of Inothewayurthinkin and Galopin Des Champs in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, but it would be no surprise if he ended up as one of the better British hopes for the race, currently priced up at 40/1.
Irish Point
(Gordon Elliott)
Come the spring festivals, it was a definite disadvantage for Gordon Elliott to be competing without the previous year’s Cheltenham Gold Cup second/Aintree Bowl winner Gerri Colombe.
In the same colours, Irish Point was missed for the Cullentra team too. Given how effective he was in the 2023 Christmas Hurdle at Leopardstown - beating Punchestown Champion Stayers’ Hurdle runner-up Asterion Forlonge by 11 lengths - he could have added even more depth to an already stacked Robcour squad for staying hurdles.
Teahupoo has been reliable in the main for connections, but expecting Bob Olinger to return in the same form for a defence of his Stayers’ Hurdle crown at Cheltenham next year could be a big ask as an 11-year-old. Might Irish Point be a viable alternative to take a crack at the Stayers’? His Champion Hurdle seconds at Cheltenham and Punchestown last year behind State Man read as rock-solid form.
In fairness, he has kept excellent company throughout his career. Right back to his bumper days in France, he beat Il Est Francais in a Saint-Cloud Grade 1, and failed by only a head in the 2022 Royal Bond behind Marine Nationale.
Those older form lines aren’t to suggest he should be over the hill now by any means - he’s still just a seven-year-old. Given the staying hurdler scene is lacking serious heavy hitters right now, he probably looks fair value each-way at 25/1 to continue Robcour’s sublime recent record in the race.
Kawaboomga
(Willie Mullins)
We didn’t get to see Kawaboomga this spring, having been ruled out of Cheltenham with a setback when third favourite for the Turners Novices’ Hurdle at 11/2, but his novice form looks really strong for a horse who has been kept to maiden hurdle company in Ireland.
J.P. McManus’ French recruit was spoken really highly of before his debut for Willie Mullins, and he lost little in defeat when second to Supreme Novices’ Hurdle hero Kopek Des Bordes at the Leopardstown Christmas Festival. He then followed that with a win over the Supreme second, William Munny, in a Fairyhouse maiden hurdle. The closing splits in that two-mile contest were said to be extremely taking.
The 2026 Arkle market is unsurprisingly tricky to decipher this far out, but - with The New Lion likely to head down the Champion Hurdle route - Kawaboomga and Irancy might look McManus’ best candidates for the race at present. Odds of 20/1 about the former could be reasonable from an each-way perspective, if campaigned over fences next term and taking to it.
SO often the line of ‘Willie’s in the bumper’ is trotted out at the end of a card, but should we be saying ‘Gavin’s in the bumper’ when it comes to the Punchestown Festival?
The concluding Willie Coonan Memorial Bumper for four-year-olds on day one has unusually only been won once in the last eight years by the dual champion trainer, and it is becoming a most happy hunting ground for this year’s Cheltenham Gold Cup-winning handler.
Victory for Bud Fox last week made it wins in back-to-back renewals for Cromwell, having struck in the same race with Sixandahalf a year earlier, and it’s catching the eye how often he makes his presence felt in Punchestown bumpers.
Only once in the last five Punchestown Festivals has the Co Meath handler failed to win a bumper at the meeting. In fact, across his entire career, he has saddled more bumper winners at the Punchestown Festival than he has at any other racecourse outright. After Bud Fox’s well-backed win, Cromwell’s strike rate in bumpers at Punchestown year-round was taken to a very healthy 24%, with eight wins from 33 runners. His next best tracks for bumpers are Limerick (29% strike rate) and Wexford (50% strike rate) on four wins apiece.
It also bodes well for Bud Fox’s future that Cromwell’s bumper winners at this track typically end up being high class. His Punchestown bumper roll of honour is made up of Grade 3 winner Letsbeclearaboutit (peak Timeform rating of 151+), Cheltenham Festival heroine Limerick Lace (147+), Grade 3 winner/Grade 1 runner-up My Mate Mozzie (150+), multiple graded-placed chaser Path d’Oroux (144), promising Galway Festival bumper winner The Passing Wife (109), Cheltenham Festival runner-up Sixandahalf (137+) and Pertemps Qualifier winner Will The Wise (131+). That is perfectly respectable company to be keeping. He could be anything over hurdles next term.