Jagwar and Courtland are two pencilled in for Cheltenham's December meeting

Five questions ahead of Cheltenham's Christmas Meeting Friday and Saturday December 12 & 13

By Ben Linfoot

Horse Racing

Wed December 10, 2025 · 1h ago

Ben Linfoot takes an overview of Cheltenham's Christmas Meeting this Friday and Saturday including horses and trainers to follow.

Is the Support The Hunt Family Fund December Gold Cup better quality than the Paddy Power Gold Cup?

Unfortunately not. Only 12 entries at the five-day stage hint at this right away and with no Kalif Du Berlais (rated 156) in there the nine-year-old Ga Law (rated 154) could head the weights on the back of his Charlie Hall third last time out.

Paddy Power winner Panic Attack won’t attempt the Cheltenham double after winning the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury, so Dan Skelton is left with Hoe Joly Smoke, third in the Paddy Power and running off the same rating here.

The runner-up from that race, Vincenzo, is back for more for Sam Thomas, with the new blood including Jagwar, Colonel Harry, Imperial Saint and Kim Roque. They make it a good enough race to get stuck into, but better than the Paddy Power it ain’t – and that was considered a below-par renewal.

Read Dave Ord's December Gold Cup horse-by-horse guide

What will the conditions be and who does that suit?

More than 12mm of rain fell on Cheltenham on Monday night into Tuesday morning turning the ground Soft (apart from the Cross Country where it remains Good) but the forecast is largely dry the rest of the week so we could see conditions improve a little.

Jagwar is the interesting one as he was taken out of the Paddy Power Gold Cup on account of freshly-deteriorated soft ground after rain during the meeting, but he is scheduled to make his seasonal reappearance on Saturday.

The December switch to the New Course should suit him – that’s the track he won the TrustATrader Plate over at the Festival – and the more emphasis on stamina that the New Course provides should be right in Hoe Joly Smoke’s wheelhouse, too.

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Who are the best handicapped horses in the race?

Jagwar is only six, is four from five over fences and could have pretensions of running in a higher grade. He’s up 9lb for his Festival win to 148 but he could be the class act in the race and bookmakers are understandably wary of his chance.

Vincenzo (up 2lb) and Hoe Joly Smoke (left alone) have to be on this list after their excellent runs behind Panic Attack in the Paddy Power, her subsequent exploits at Newbury underlining their chances here.

Il Ridoto won the 2024 Paddy Power Gold Cup off 141 and runs off the same mark this weekend. Martator was rated 151 earlier in the year and is 10lb lower here, his good running-on second over two miles and a bit at Ascot last time encouraging regarding his chance.

And then there’s a couple of Irish novices in Will The Wise (139, Gavin Cromwell) and Kim Roque (125, Joseph O’Brien) who have the potential to pull one over the handicapper given their unexposed profiles.

Martator (far right) looks well treated

What other interesting horses are running at Cheltenham?

With only one graded race at the two-day meeting (the Grade 2 Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle over three miles on Saturday) it’s all fairly low-key but the handicaps, cross country, veterans’ race and novices throw up plenty of interest and here’s a quick 10 to keep an eye on:

Sixmilebridge in the 12.40 Friday. Runs under a penalty for Fergal O’Brien but defeated the well-touted Derryhassen Paddy in Ayr on chasing debut.
Brentford Hope in the 13.15 Friday. Had two goes over fences but is back over hurdles off a reduced mark of 137 for Harry Derham.
L’Homme Presse in the 13.50 Friday. The Turners Handicap Chase over the Gold Cup track has the potential to be a cracking race and Venetia Williams’ 10-year-old could return 300 days since he was pulled up in a Grade 1 at Ascot.
The Doyen Chief in the 13.50 Friday. In the same race Alan King’s The Doyen Chief could get the chance to quickly atone for his Coral Gold Cup no-show where he was undone at the start.
Courtland in the 14.25 Friday. Looks a good addition to the veteran ranks and his Sandown second to Twig was emphatically boosted in the Becher at the weekend.
Lucky Manifest in in the 15.35 Friday. Started from a low base in handicaps but was a good second at this track last time and on pedigree the step up to three miles should see more improvement.
The Jukebox Kid in the 12.40 Saturday. Not the most famous Jukebox in the Pauling yard but he’s capable of being a smash hit himself and this half-brother to Yeah Man should also enjoy the extra distance.
JPR One in the 14.25 Saturday. Ran a cracker at Ascot last time but nudged back up 2lb and might be in no man’s land off 153 – but he should enjoy this course and distance.
Conman Jon in the 15.00 Saturday. Two from two over hurdles including here last time out. Gets a 3lb penalty for that but Lucinda Russell said she was working back from the Albert Bartlett in March and she excels with this type of horse.
Jubilee Alpha in the 15.35 Saturday. She would’ve likely justified 5/4 favouritism at Wincanton on return but for a mistake at the second last but looked better than ever and could give the weight away here.

JPR One on his way to victory

Who are the trainers to look out for at this meeting?

Of the established big names Nicky Henderson traditionally has the best record at this meeting. Since 1997 he’s had 43 winners at a strike-rate of 21.72% and that percentage dwarfs every other trainer who has had at least 15 runners.

Henderson has 10 entries for Cheltenham this weekend at the five-day stage starting with impressive Kempton winner Old Park Star in the opening novice on Friday. Later on the same card Jeriko Du Reponet and Mister Coffey bid to improve on last-time out seconds.

On Saturday That’s Nice and Reckless Spending are amongst his potential runners.

Fellow Lambourn trainer Warren Greatrex is another name to note. He’s in great form with a 38% strike-rate for the last fortnight and he’s three from 18 at 16.67% at Cheltenham in December.

He’s got one entry on each day; Herakles Westwood in the Turners Handicap Chase on Friday and Realta Liath in the Quintessentially Mares’ Handicap Chase on Saturday.

Kerry Lee doesn’t often turn up at Cheltenham in December but she’s 2/6 when she does, Gino Trail and Storm Control winning at this meeting, so her sole entry Cabhfuilfungi is worth some consideration in the 2m handicap chase on Saturday.

And finally, could Gavin Cromwell be turning a corner? He’s had a difficult start to the season but has had three winners in December and he’s 2/8 at this Cheltenham meeting, including Stumptown winning the Cross Country 12 months ago.

He has four possibles in that race this time around including Final Orders and Vanillier, while his other interesting entries at the meeting include Velvet Elvis, Me Wee Bonnie Lass and then Will The Wise in the feature.