Our columnist puts down the festive chocolate long enough to get aspirations for 2026 from several leading racing figures.
In the lead-up to Christmas, I find myself sat at my desk, munching through the back catalogue of a Dairy Milk advent calendar and perusing the vast amount of Christmas racing previews.
The festive racing calendar leaves little room for thinking outside the next round of declarations, so it seems worth using this chocolate-fuelled time to look forward to 2026.
Start at the top, as they say. I ring esteemed editor Dave Ord, who can always be relied upon to deliver on the important issues. He didn’t disappoint, immediately getting to the nitty gritty of racing’s struggles.
“What is your racing wish for 2026?” I ask.
“Can we have metal cutlery in the Cheltenham media centre?”
First world problems to some, but have you ever eaten an Irish stew – a token nod to St Patrick’s Day during the Festival - with a wooden spork?
You can offer a whole years’ worth of possibilities to the National Hunt trainers, but they are only interested in one thing. Fergal O’Brien is up first.
“I’d like a Cheltenham Festival winner!”
“With who?”
“I don’t care!” he laughs.
Poor Olly Murphy is trying to leave Ascot after a long day when I corner him, but hopefully it’ll be a worthwhile enterprise in a couple of months.
“I’d like to train more big Saturday winners,” he says.
“Going into the spring, I think They Call Me Hugo could be a proper Albert Bartlett horse.”
Champion Jockey Sean Bowen baffles me with his response, but thankfully he’s got a better handle on his achievements than I have.
“A Grade 1 success and 300 winners,” he responds with certainty.
Did you realise that Sean Bowen has never won a Grade 1 chase and his last Grade 1 hurdle victory was April 2024? Two Liverpool Hurdles, a Fighting Fifth and a Tolworth Novices Hurdle, but a top-level success over the bigger fences remains elusive.
Sky Sports Racing presenter Hayley Moore has a busy year upcoming – for anyone who doesn’t tune in, she’s currently pregnant and still operating with the same joy for life as always. Cheltenham, unsurprisingly, remains the focus.
“I’d like Dad [Gary] and my brother [Josh] to have a Cheltenham Festival winner. Hopefully with Hurricane Pat, who goes to the Rossington Main Novices’ Hurdle on 17 January.
“Then my due date is the next day, so hopefully it’s a good few days for the family.”
I’ve met some wonderful people over the last year and one of my favourites has been Jamie Osborne. I’m happy to make this admission in print, safe in the knowledge that he will never read it – don’t say anything.
He’s in Dubai with a squad of horses including Heart Of Honor, but on this occasion, I’m more interested in a certain expensive purchase from the Autumn Horses In Training sale, Group 1 winner White Birch.
“Aspirations for 2026?”
“To survive another year. Am I allowed to say that?” he muses.
“To have more winners than 2025, and some bigger prizes.
“…and to win the Wolferton Stakes with White Birch.”
Bingo.
Talking of Royal Ascot, a visit to Berkshire gives me the opportunity to have a chat to Will Aitkenhead, Head of Corporate and Industry Affairs. I know what I’d like to hear about from Will, so he’s not granted the same open parameters as everyone else.
“Who would you like to see at Ascot in 2026?”
“I’d like to see Masquerade Ball come over for the King George, the rematch with Calandagan [from the Japan Cup] would be great. We’re hoping the investment into the King George will attract international runners, especially the Japanese horses,” he explains.
“I’d also like to see Calandagan come for the Prince of Wales’s Stakes, as well as the King George.”
The importance of a good flat horse - #Calandafans - is emphasised by my next run-in. To put a personality to the by-line, you’d struggle to find a more enthusiastic recruit to racing media than the Daily Mail’s Dominic King. I’m in awe of his boundless energy and he makes me want to be better.
“I want a horse, like City Of Troy, to emerge, who captures everybody’s imagination and makes the viewing so compelling that they are talked about before, and talked about after,” he says, after some thought.
“That’s what racing is about: great horses. On the Flat, we need a superstar to come through again.”
The same sentiment applies to jumps and Mick Fitzgerald sums up the feelings of many National Hunt fans with his wish for 2026.
“Constitution Hill to get back in the winners enclosure,” he answers.
“I don’t care if it’s on the flat or over hurdles, but that he gets back there.”
We need racing personalities amongst the people too and ITV Racing’s Alice Plunkett gives a nod to a potential future star.
“Isabelle Ryder is going to be a very good jockey,” she says immediately.
“My wish for 2026 is for her to get the support and opportunity to showcase her riding ability. She represented Great Britain in showjumping, she knows how to get a horse to a fence and is strong.
“We’re due another top female jockey and if she’s given the chance, she could go all the way.”
We can’t end this tour around racing without a visit to see Grand National-winning jockey Daryl Jacob, who wins the award for the nicest answer. It’s little surprise; he’s a lovely man.
“I want everyone to be happy and enjoy racing. You never know what’s around the corner.”
“That’s so lovely, but do you mind giving us a Double Green tip as well?” I laugh.
“Masked Man, trained by Nigel Twiston-Davies, is going to a horse to follow through the year.”
So there you have it.
When you’re sat, coerced into watching the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special on Christmas Day and contemplating whether there is room for another round of cheese and biscuits – spoiler alert: there always is - give it some thought. What is your racing wish for 2026?
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