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Equinties - the Harry’s
BGP Capital
November 25, 2025
Gm Equinauts
We know we’ve produced a lot of NH propaganda the last few weeks.
but just check this line up out for the Fighting Fith:
How good is that!?
Let’s dive in!
HEADLINE ROUNDUP
WHEELER DEALER
It’s been a great few days for the Harrys, hasn’t it?
Harry Cobden rode an Exeter treble on Sunday and a Ludlow winner yesterday, Harry Skelton won the Betfair Chase two hours after bolting up on KABRAL DU MATHAN, and Harry Redknapp had a chunk on THE JUKEBOX MAN at Haydock.
Redknapp really is great for the game. He simply loves horse racing, and he is happy to use his well earned fortune buying nice National Hunt horses in the knowledge that he probably won’t ever see that money again. He also loves having horses in multiple yards because, well, probably to keep them all honest. A good move to be able to make it pay too, we imagine he’d ring up all of his trainers in the morning just so he knows what the bet of the day is.
On Saturday, Redknapp won the Graduation Chase at Haydock with Ben Pauling, and two days later, he revealed a potential Triumph Hurdle horse at Kempton for Martin Keighley, as the three-year-old bolted up at 7/2 under Sean Bowen.
Keighley isn’t known for having Graded horses, though he knows how to train (he gets top handicappers to win regularly), so it’s nice to see Redknapp supporting him.
Post-race, Keighley said: “I was so impressed with him. He's such a strong traveller and for a three-year-old he's got so much size and scope he'd jump a fence. From the first day we schooled him he's just absolutely loved it. Some juveniles run around in front, but he knows his job and I was happy for him to lead, he was perfect.
"I think the Triumph would have to be the goal for the season based on the way he went today and to be that impressive, I think we have to aim for it. He's certainly one of the best ones we've had for a while."
Whether he is an actual contender for the Triumph is still up for debate. Yes, he was good, but the odds-on favourite for David Pipe blew out, and the race didn’t look overly strong past the top three in the betting. Willie Mullins is in no hurry to bring out his big juvenile guns yet, after all.
He has some way to go to being a Grade 1 winner-in-waiting, but this was a lovely start. He was rated 79 on the Flat, so he clearly has some ability for sure, and if he doesn’t quite make up into a Triumph horse, he could easily step back to the Fred Winter, if they get enough runs into him.
It’s likely to be the Grade 2 on Cheltenham Trial Day next, but maybe connections should also think of the Adonis, as he has shown his love for Kempton already.
Were there any other notable performances yesterday? Keep an eye on SNATCH A GLANCE for Fergal O’Brien. He’s looked like a nice horse for Fergal O’Brien all season, and he got his head in front for the first time over hurdles at Ludlow.
He had to survive a stewards’ enquiry due to his weaving/greenness, but he has ability, and once he matures, he could be quite smart.
JAX JUNIOR was also quite a nice winner at Kempton, though it probably was a bit of a weirdly-run race. There are questions to be had about JERIKO DU REPONET as a chaser, and while MIAMI MAGIC and HANSARD are nice horses, they never seemed to get into the race.
Maybe JAX JUNIOR simply made it too much of a test from the front? That is possible, and he looked pretty nice tbf. It’ll be interesting to see what connections do with him going forward because he has a handicap mark of 136 currently, and that could be useful depending on what the handicapper does with him next week.
GORDO TARGETS
This season might be quite interesting for Gordon Elliott. In a Racing TV sit-down interview with Ruby Walsh earlier this season, he said that his horses were a few weeks behind where they usually would be, and that would probably reflect in how his horses would run on their first starts of the campaign.
As we all know, Elliott likes to come out of the gates firing at Down Royal, and then when Willie Mullins starts to have runners, all unravels and Mullins takes control.
But, this year, we have been seeing some things fall slightly differently for Elliott. He may have had a generous 22 winners in the month of November, but last year he had 30 in the same month, in 2023 he had 41, and in 2022 he had 37.
So, unless he has a storming week, he is probably going to have a lower total in this month compared to previous years, which backs up what he said earlier this year.
With this in mind, his team for this side of the new year could be rather interesting to follow. Just yesterday, he confirmed that ROMEO COOLIO is on course for the Drinmore Novices’ Chase and TEAHUPOO is in fine form ahead of the Hatton’s Grace.
And there will be a few interesting horses that are on our radar after their starts to the season, notably RELIEVED OF DUTIES, FOUND A FIFTY, and DEE CAPO.
Furthermore, the horse that will gather a lot of attention on her next start is the Grade 2 Ascot Hurdle winner WODHOOH, and in very classic Gordon Elliott style, he is seemingly keeping all options open.
He said: “She’s unassuming, it’s hard to know where she’ll go. She has all options open, there’s race at Doncaster and a race in Windsor in mid-January. She’ll have entries everywhere and we’ll see where she’ll go.
“This morning I’d say the mares’ race (Mares’ Hurdle) should be where she’ll be going, but the Stayers’ Hurdle and the Champion Hurdle aren’t out of the question.
“She’s so lackadaisical and laid-back, she’s not fancy working and nothing fazes her, but she just keeps winning.
“She gave Lossiemouth a run for her money (when second in the Aintree Hurdle) and I think she’s a stronger mare and a better mare this year.”
Stayers’ Hurdle, Champion Hurdle, and Mares’ Hurdle all mention for WODHOOH. Lord above.
Keep it simple, Gordo. Target the Mares’ Hurdle and make it yours. There’s a very strong possibility that LOSSIEMOUTH could be campaigned like a Champion Hurdle horse this season after the STATE MAN news, and if ANZADAM blows out at Newcastle this week, that chance grows exponentially. If that’s the case, who do you have to beat? KARGESE is entered for a beginners’ chase, JADE DE GRUGY has gone over fences already (though she could come back to hurdles having been soundly beaten), and the likes of ASTON MARTINI, LADY VEGA ALLEN, and GALILEO DAME would have to improve. She’s 4/1 for the Mares’ Hurdle now, and that even looks on the nice side based on who could actually challenge her in March.
TOUGH NICE DECISIONS
Like the Harrys, Sam Thomas is having a great season so far, which is nice to see.
Over the last five seasons, Thomas’ wins per campaign have been 26, 20, 17, 18, and 16, with the last number being the 2024-25 season. So far for 2025-26, he has had 10 winners from 24 runners, which is quite incredible. That’s a 42% strike rate, and he’s also had CELTIC DINO finish second in the Grade 2 Ascot Hurdle to add to those 10 winners.
After such a nice start to the season, Thomas has some big decision to make with some quality horses, notably in the two-mile novice chase division. Both STEEL ALLY and LUMP SUM have looked very nice so far this campaign, and we mustn’t forget that they finished 1-2 in the Welsh Champion Hurdle last year, only separated by a length, so they’re similarly matched. If we were to guess, we’d say that LUMP SUM may just be that little bit better, but they have both been campaigned rather aggressively and are still unexposed in this division.
On Sky Sports Racing yesterday, Thomas shared that they are both in fierce force, and that LUMP SUM felt “incredible” on the gallops.
If they are hard to split up, Thomas could make a fairly easy call here. STEEL ALLY stayed 2m3f well in the Grade 2 National Spirit Hurdle last season when second to NEMEAN LION, and he did look like a bit more of a stayer lto when beating UNEXPECTED PARTY at Carlisle. He’s entered for the Grade 2 John Francome Novices’ Chase at Newbury on Friday, so why not test him there against the likes of REGENT’S STROLL, WENDIGO, and KINGSTON PRIDE.
At the very least, you will find out if he is a proper 2m4f horse in this company, and you can then make a plan from there. He also has race fitness, and while a few in the John Francome also have this, REGENT’S STROLL doesn’t.
This frees up LUMP SUM to go for the Grade 1 Henry VIII Novices’ Chase at Sandown, even if he would be taking on LULAMBA. This would, of course, be a stern test, but he has speed, and he’s worth his shot in that company if the non-LULAMBA competitors are able to be taken on.
Did Thomas say anything more on Sky Sports Racing? Well, this weekend (the Coral Gold Cup) has been the plan for KATATE DORI, which is interesting as we thought he could maybe be a Welsh Nash type, especially as he had a run over hurdles at Aintree last time out. Thomas is worried that the handicapper might have him though.
And chat obviously turned to CELTIC DINO and where he may go next. He obviously needs nice ground, so that’s a worry for if we get some more rain in the next few weeks or so. If we were connections, we’d put him away and maybe give him a try in something like the County.
A big burn-up race could suit his speedy nature nicely, and even if he has to carry a rating around 144, he has loads of ability, so he should be able to do this. Freshen him up while the rest of the two-mile handicap hurdling division race through the winter, and then have a nice spring with him instead. Easy.
RISK ON
A tough days punting yesterday, we’re going to make sure our picks are rock solid this week.
We’re still studying for today and will post on X via @equinties
