Our popular jumps season Stable Tour series already includes in-depth horse-by-horse guides from the leading yards of Willie Mullins, Henry De Bromhead, Dan Skelton, Paul Nicholls and Ben Pauling to name just a handful.
It won't stop there with the likes of Gordon Elliott and Gavin Cromwell among the next wave to emerge in the coming days so do look out for all the latest updates as the 2025/26 National Hunt season glides through the gears.
With the November Meeting at Cheltenham (follow link for Timeform Stats Guide) later this week and Newbury's Winter Carnival fixture looming large on the horizon, find out which horses have been nominated as names to note in the coming weeks and months by our Value Bet expert Matt Brocklebank.
Echoing Silence (Henry De Bromhead)
The eye was always going to be drawn to a Henry De Bromhead-trained mare in the blue and white silks of Kenny Alexander, but I was highly encouraged by the maiden hurdle success of Echoing Silence at Cork earlier in the month.
Her trainer is now eyeing a step up in grade and it’s not hard to see this half-sister to three-mile winner Deafening Silence (Skelton) making up into a really useful sort both this season and next when surely bound for a novice chase campaign.
The five-year-old is seemingly versatile in terms of ground but is built to cope with Irish winter conditions and just looks to have filled her frame over the summer having been given plenty of time before her debut outing last December and the Down Royal bumper win in the spring.
Trainer comment: “She’s a lovely big mare, a point-to-point winner. She was beaten in her maiden hurdle at Navan last December, but she was just a little backward last season. We left her off after that and brought her back for a bumper in the spring at Down Royal, which she won. She was good in winning her maiden hurdle at Cork on Sunday, so we’re looking forward to stepping her up in grade now and seeing how she goes.”
Diamonds For Luck (Olly Murphy)
Olly Murphy and Sean Bowen will be one of the first combinations punters are going to be looking for ahead of the majority of big weekend handicaps this season and it was fascinating to read the trainer already nominating the Imperial Cup as a likely option later in the season for Diamonds For Luck.
The six-year-old was cannily placed to win three novice hurdle races last term at odds of 4/19, 8/11 and 1/16, and the lack of depth to those events has resulted in Diamonds For Luck getting a reasonable-looking mark of 122.
With the stated long-term spring project in mind, this might be a horse to monitor first time back but I can see him going well in some really nice handicap hurdles through the winter once the ground turns more suitable, and I suppose if it doesn’t quite work out as hoped then connections might be tempted to switch to fences at some point too.
Trainer comment: “He is a horse that could be for an Imperial Cup. I know it is a long way away, but two miles on very soft ground is what he wants. He is definitely a lot better than his mark and he is still very unexposed. He looked progressive last season and will be one for those nicer handicaps.”
Mirabad (Dan Skelton)
Dan Skelton has already been making hay with a number of horses he’s picked up from other trainers since the season officially began back in the spring and I immediately put a tab on Mirabad when it was revealed in the Stable Tour that the Greatwood Hurdle was this horse’s first big objective.
Winner of a decent event on the New Course for previous connections at Cheltenham (good to soft) last December, Mirabad only raced once subsequent to that – finishing down the field behind Joyeuse on a testing surface in the William Hill Hurdle at Newbury.
New trainer Skelton will be hoping there isn’t too much rain next week and it’s hard to imagine the six-year-old will be lacking in fitness, knowing how far out these targets are planned.
Trainer comment: “He got sent to us from the Dr (Richard) Newland and Jamie Insole yard and he is going to aim for the Greatwood Hurdle. He won well around the track at the Showcase Meeting in October. The plan is to go there fresh with him. Plans are on hold after that as there is just this one plan for him to start off with.”
Gold Cast (Paul Nicholls)
Loads of promising young horses to consider from the Nicholls Stable Tour and it will be interesting to see how things work out with his juveniles this term. A few of them have already been labelled ‘future chasers’ but Gold Cast is a Telecaster filly who was purchased by Anthony Bromley/Highflyer for €300,000.
She’s already got a hurdling win on the CV from Auteuil in May, when ridden by Bryony Frost, so you’d imagine she’s come with a decent reputation.
The three-year-old has settled in well by all accounts and that aforementioned victory came on ‘very soft’ ground so Gold Cast could be a fun horse to follow once the proper rain eventually arrives in Britain.
Trainer comment: “She is a nice juvenile filly that has joined us from France. She won on her last start under Bryony (Frost) over at Auteuil. Following that she was purchased for us by Anthony Bromley. Her aim will be that Listed mares’ novices’ hurdle at Taunton over Christmas. She looks a good mare and is by Dante winner Telecaster, who is a promising new sire.”
Epic West (Jamie Snowden)
Jamie Snowden is one of those personable characters it’s very hard not to root for and he’s enjoying amazingly successful time of things at present, Colonel Harry’s Grand Sefton success at Aintree on Saturday one of 18 winners Snowden has sent out since the start of October.
Epic West doesn’t hold any entries at the time of writing but it was interesting to learn that he picked up an injury when beaten 17 lengths at Fontwell in January as he was on a hat-trick there and clearly quite well fancied (6/4) ahead of a possible shot at the EBF Final which his half-brother Complete Unknown won in 2022.
The horse that beat Epic West at Fontwell, Glynn Brae, came out and defied a mark of 128 at Sandown on Sunday so, with that legitimate excuse in mind, Snowden’s horse might end up being quite well treated from his current perch of 120 if taking to fences this time around.
He’ll be going up in trip this year hopefully and has quite a lot of untapped potential given he won his point over three miles in March 2024.
Trainer comment: “He is a dual novice hurdle winner last season. He picked up an injury at Fontwell under a double penalty and he was one we were targeting the EBF Final with. He will go novice chasing this season. He is in good order and jumps fences well. He is a big strong individual. He is still unexposed and could have slipped under the radar a bit.”
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