Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup preview: Our team reflect on the entries

By Sporting Life

Horse Racing

Wed January 07, 2026 · 1h ago

The entries are through for the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup and Ben Linfoot, Tony McFadden and John Ingles answer four key questions.

Which of the first home in the King George are you taking forward as your main Cheltenham Gold Cup fancy from that race?

Ben Linfoot: The Jukebox Man. It was a brilliant King George and I do think The Jukebox Man battling back once headed to get the better of that four-way finish tells us a few things; one, this horse is nails and he fought like mad to keep his unbeaten record over fences intact and two, stamina is a strong part of his armoury. Both traits will serve him well in a Gold Cup and though he has no experience over Cheltenham’s fences I do think the New Course will serve him well. All of the King George foursome have it to prove over 3m2f and a bit around Cheltenham, but TJM looks best equipped for the test for my money.

John Ingles: Given that he is still so lightly raced over fences, and unbeaten over them for that matter, it would have to be The Jukebox Man on the basis that he’s open to the most improvement. His jumping will be a real asset in a Gold Cup and while he’s not a Cheltenham winner, his narrow defeat in the Albert Bartlett on his only run there to date is the next best thing – that’s a race that has thrown up future Gold Cup winners too. He needs to prove his stamina beyond three miles, but the way he rallied after the last at Kempton was encouraging in that respect.

Tony McFadden: Jango Baie was stepping up in trip to three miles at Kempton but, even so, it felt like a steadily-run race around a sharp track on decent ground didn't present enough of a stamina test.

He was sticking to his task in encouraging fashion and it's possible the even longer trip and stiffer course at Cheltenham could help bring about a bigger effort from a chaser who looked to have plenty of untapped stamina reserves at shorter trips.

Gaelic Warrior, The Jukebox Man and Banbridge at the last

What did you make of the Savills at Leopardstown?

JI: With the Gold Cup in mind, I thought Galopin des Champs ran with plenty of promise in third after briefly taking the lead, especially as he lacked a prior run. That was in contrast to Inothewayurthinkin who will need to make massive improvement on his two starts so far this season in the Irish Gold Cup to convince me that he has a chance of retaining his Cheltenham title.

Runner-up I Am Maximus will presumably be more focused on Aintree again in the spring, while winner Affordale Fury will need to improve again, but he hasn’t had too many chances over fences in an interrupted career and is enjoying a clearer run at things now.

TM: It was an encouraging comeback from Galopin des Champs, for all he was some way below his best, and he'll surely be a very short price to turn the tables on the front pair, Affordale Fury and I Am Maximus, should they meet again in the Irish Gold Cup. He's evidently still a big presence in the division, even at the age of ten.

Inothewayurthinkin flopped in the Savills but it would take a brave man to write him off given the level of form he showed when beating Galopin des Champs in the Gold Cup last year. He'd hardly been dazzling before last year’s Gold Cup either – even if he hadn't performed as badly as he did in this season’s Savills – and it would be little surprise to see a resurgence at Cheltenham, though there’s clearly a question to answer.

BL: In pure form terms it doesn’t look as strong as the King George but as a stepping stone to Gold Cup glory it could be a key piece of the jigsaw for one of the protagonists. The winner Affordale Fury did well to win given he jumped out to his right, but he wouldn’t get away with that in a Cheltenham Gold Cup and at this stage he looks short of the required standard for all he could improve again.

Galopin Des Champs ran well leaving the impression he can improve on that, but can he be at his very best again at the age of 10? The interesting one from the race for me with Cheltenham in mind was Monty’s Star in fifth after he stayed on late. He looks an out-and-out stayer and he’s ahead of schedule compared to last season where he ended up fourth in the Gold Cup during which he made a bad error and was hampered. He’s a dark horse for me at a huge price.

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How do you see Grey Dawning and Haiti Couleurs’ chances?

BL: I loved Haiti Couleurs’ Welsh National win after he jumped for fun under a big weight and that puts him right in the picture. He might need a wet spring and genuine soft ground if he’s to become a possible winner, just to take the edge away from the class horses, but he’s certainly back in the game after his Haydock blowout.

Grey Dawning obviously beat him well in the Betfair Chase but Haiti Couleurs clearly wasn’t himself that day and they’re not far apart in the Gold Cup betting. The market just favours Grey Dawning, who went some way to proving he has the stamina for a Gold Cup at Haydock, but you don’t see many Gold Cups won by horses ridden cold like he is. He’ll add a fascinating element to the race, though, so hopefully all goes well in his prep.

TM: Haiti Couleurs has been a huge money-spinner for connections and has lots of admirable qualities, chief among them his fluent jumping and good attitude. However, there's sometimes a danger of overreacting to handicap performances under big weights, and I suspect another sizeable step forward will be needed in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. It wouldn't surprise me to see him reach the frame, however.

As for Grey Dawning, there probably wasn't much substance to his Betfair Chase success, particularly as main market rival Haiti Couleurs flopped so badly, and the balance of his form last season suggests he's unlikely to be good enough.

JI: Barring his run in last season’s King George, Grey Dawning’s record over fences is hard to knock. He’s being trained differently this term, but his Betfair Chase win came against a thin field and while he’s run to a consistent level in victory and defeat, he’d have to find improvement from somewhere to have a winning chance in a Gold Cup.

The Betfair Chase apart, Haiti Couleurs has enjoyed a tremendous last twelve months or so, and while he’s a bit behind Grey Dawning form-wise at the moment, he may not have stopped progressing yet. Clearly a Gold Cup that puts the emphasis on stamina would suit him best, but he showed in the Welsh National that he doesn’t need ground softer than good.

Haiti Couleurs wins the Welsh National

Are there any other horses on your radar for the race right now?

JI: Unlike Inothewayurthinkin, Lecky Watson did take a step forward from the John Durkan to the Savills and while that still leaves him some way off Gold Cup standard as things stand, he has run with credit in each of his three Festival visits, notably when causing a 20/1 surprise in last year’s Brown Advisory.

TM: The steady pace and resulting tight finish mean that the King George may not prove to be a sparkling piece of form - not as strong as had looked likely beforehand, anyway - but The Jukebox Man still deserves credit for coming out on top against more experienced chasers. His good jumping and tough attitude will stand him in good stead in the Gold Cup, for all he'll face a sterner stamina test.

BL: Not particularly but we should mention last year’s winner Inothewayurthinkin. It was particularly disappointing to see him take a sideways step in the Savills given his John Durkan bar was so low and it’s hard to know what to make of him right now which is ironic. Just purely from a market perspective I’m struggling to envisage a scenario where I end up backing him, which is a funny thing to say about such an impressive Gold Cup winner 10 months on.

But I think connections will either be confident they’ve got him back in the spring in which case he’ll be solid in the betting – likely too solid considering what we’ve seen from him in two runs this season – or he’ll take a walk in the market in which case I couldn’t go near him. With plenty of new blood in the division I think I’ll be putting faith in there being a new name on the trophy come March 13.