Which horses can bounce back in 2026?

By Matt Brocklebank

Horse Racing

Wed January 07, 2026 · 10h ago

Matt Brocklebank explores some star names who might be worth forgiving their latest efforts with a view to this weekend and beyond.

Stomach crunches, veganism, dry January. Pick your poison, I suppose. Or not, as the case may be if you’re foregoing the booze.

They say this is the month for reflection, resolutions and new beginnings and, having recently settled up a less-than-satisfactory profit/loss balance for Value Bet 2025, I’m all for a chorus of ‘out with the old, in with the new’.

While we’re in the mood for wiping the slate clean, how about looking to forgive a few of our equine stars at this time of year?

No jumps horse is without blemish and most of the greats had the odd winter hiccup en route to superstardom. Imagine a world in which we’d washed our hands of Kauto Star after his famous Haydock unseat as Snoopy Loopy picked up the pieces in the 2008 Betfair Chase, or given up on Don Cossack following his King George tumble.

In a fulsome piece on these pages not so long ago, Phil Turner underlined that “of the 41 horses to win the Champion Hurdle since 1970, no less than 20 of them fell at least once during their careers." That essay was, of course, in relation to the current predicament facing those in charge of Constitution Hill, who may or may not be rocking up in a novice race on the Flat at Kempton Park in three weeks’ time, depending on who you believe.

Win, lose or draw on his next public appearance, Constitution Hill is going to require a different kind of forgiveness if he ever returns to the jumping scene, but there are plenty other horses out there who deserve a chance to atone for their last-time-out blemishes, and two of them are due to reappear this Saturday.

Lucinda Russell was slightly worried that Myretown might lack the requisite experience for a race like the Coral Gold Cup and the runaway Ultima winner duly jumped sketchily before taking liberties at the ninth fence on seasonal debut at Newbury.

That’s not the horse’s only heavy fall in his light career so far either as last January he put jockey Derek Fox out of action for months with a shocker when still in with every chance three from home at Windsor’s Winter Million fixture.

So, he’s got previous - I think that’s fair to say - but having nibbled the 100/1-plus on Betfair for the Gold Cup prior to Newbury, I’ve recalibrated my own expectations and, if it wasn’t already the case, now fully anticipate he’ll be campaigned with the Randox Grand National in mind.

This weekend’s Classic Chase has been the plan for a while by all accounts and the same stable famously won it with One For Arthur prior to his Aintree heroics nine years ago. Myretown was a well-backed 4/1 favourite for the Coral Gold Cup and is already topping the betting for this weekend's race. He's probably short enough, but I refuse to believe he’s handicapped out of things off off 142 – let’s just hope he can find a rhythm and put in a clear round.

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In Ireland, the Dan & Joan Moore Memorial Handicap Chase at Fairyhouse is typically a very informative Cheltenham/Aintree pointer, but it’s obviously a valuable race in its own right too.

Gavin Cromwell has entered six and Willie Mullins five but it’s the Paul Nolan-trained Conyers Hill – an eyecatching sixth from off the pace in last season’s Grand Annual – who deserves maximum respect as he ran well again back at Prestbury Park when fourth behind Panic Attack in the Paddy Power Gold Cup, before falling at Limerick over Christmas.

Going best and in the lead when coming down two from the finish there, it’s no surprise the handicapper has nudged him up 3lb and I fancy he could be really well treated.

A little later in the month, Ben Pauling’s Handstands will head to Windsor’s Fleur De Lys Chase on the back of what have in essence been three disappointing runs, though being pulled-up at Aintree last April was surely at least in part due to being hampered just as the race began to warm up.

Earlier this campaign he was turned over at odds-on in the Colin Parker, before looking out of his comfort zone behind Grey Dawning and Royale Pagaille in the Betfair Chase. In fairness, Haiti Couleurs has already demonstrated that the Haydock form shouldn’t necessarily be taken at face value, and I reckon Handstands could be in for a potentially lucrative end to the season. His trainer has even mooted a possible route to the National for him too, and they don’t get much more lucrative than that.

WATCH: Handstands beats Jango Baie in the 2025 Scilly Isles Novices' Chase at Sandown

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There are levels of forgiveness, of course, including leaning towards a rather more positive view of a perceived disappointment.

Take Regent’s Stroll at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day. Here is a horse with Grade 1 potential – or so we’d like to believe based on his novice hurdle campaign.

He drifted from odds-on to 6/4 in a weak enough, five-runner novice chase last week and couldn’t get it done under Harry Cobden, who was very open in saying that getting more experience of jumping fences at pace was priority number one in his post-race interview on Racing TV after winning one of the later races.

It’s worth remembering Regent's Stroll was also conceding 5lb in weight to the first and the third, so no great shock that he’s among the early market leaders for the Jack Richards at the Festival in March.

It could be more financially rewarding to take a delve through Willie Mullins’ novice hurdlers who haven’t quite met the requisite level but remain on the ‘could be anything’ list due to what we saw of them previously, including when fighting-fit in the heart of last spring.

The Weatherbys Champion Bumper seems like a reasonable place to start whenever the Sky Bet Supreme first gets talked about and I'll admit I needed reminding that big-race winner Bambino Fever was shoved right out to 33/1 for the Cheltenham curtain-raiser after being beaten at odds of 1/4 on hurdling debut at Naas.

Given the prominently-ridden winner was race-ready after a bumper success in November, and the Mullins string were clearly behind Gordon Elliott’s in their respective work schedules at the time, that has to be considered a bit of an over-reaction. She might even still be considered near the top of the pile by a few key members of Closutton team.

Indeed, Patrick Mullins hinted as much when also recently revealing that Leader d’Allier is expected to come on plenty for his maiden hurdle debut at Leopardstown on Boxing Day. He’s now 50/1 in places for the Supreme, his unbeaten conqueror Ballyfad having been clipped only to 20s.

It's been a captivating season to this point but, as the frost takes hold for a day or two, you sense there are some major players still waiting in the wings. Punters may just need to reach out and give one or two of them another chance.

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