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Equinties - the review
BGP Capital
November 10, 2025
Gm Equinauts
There is a lot of noise on X taking the p*ss out of the recent walkovers racing has seen over the last week and yes, whilst the weather has been unbelievably unseasonal, that lack of runners should be ringing alarm bells loudly enough to wake up the dribbling old men in charge of the BHA.
Let’s hope we get a nice field for LULAMBA’s chase debut at Exeter in a couple of weeks.
Let’s dive in!
HEADLINE ROUNDUP
BIG DAY
What a huge day of action we had this weekend in the grand scheme of the jumps season, and we’re not necessarily talking about Saturday’s racing at Aintree and Wincanton. Even when there was no ‘standout’ race this weekend, there is actually a lot to talk about, so let’s dive into what we learnt yesterday, both on and off the track.
Right, the stuff that happened on track. Not only did Tony Mullins deliver a winner for anyone who listened, but ONLY BY NIGHT showed us all that she is a mighty fine mare who did not put in a fluke performance in the Arkle.
The seven-year-old mare was sent off 4/1 for the Grade 3 Barberstown Castle Chase, a race that was tricky to work out. The four main contenders all had race fitness questions to answer, especially INTHEPOCKET on his first run for 308 days, and both CHAMP KIELY and ILE ATLANTIQUE fall into the category of “it depends on which horse rolls out of bed”.
It turns out CHAMP KIELY got out of the right side of the Closutton stable, and ILE ATLANTIQUE did not, as the latter was 17 lengths behind the former. Furthermore, Gavin Crmwell’s stable form was 0 from 61 before that race. Yes, you read that right, which probably explains why last season’s Arkle third was as big as 4/1.
For this reason, her effort can definitely be marked up, and she surely is primed to have another big season. She’s now a seven-year-old with a nice summer on her back, and she looked very good on numerous occasions last season, notably in the Arkle and that Grade 2 at Cork in December. Could she come over to the UK this side of Christmas? She can have a small tenancy to jump to her left, but it’s nothing too serious. Would that be enough to put Gavin Cromwell and her new owners, Robcour, off sending her to the Tingle Creek?
This is honestly a race she could be good enough to compete in, but it seems as if Cromwell is keen to keep to mares’ company. She was down to run in the Cheltenham Mares’ Chase last season until a fairly late switch to the Arkle, so maybe they’re plotting a course to the Mares’ Chase via other mares’ races?
Cromwell said: “She’s a real good mare. She's genuine and brilliant to jump, but she will never go and win by a few lengths. She only does enough and we got the right result there which was great.
"The first day we ran her over two miles over fences, we thought it was going to be way too sharp for her but she’s jumped so quick that she’s been effective at two miles. Two and a half won’t be a problem. Ultimately, the Mares' Chase at Cheltenham is the plan.
“We're not sure what races she'll take in on the way to the mares' chase at Cheltenham, I suppose the John and Chich Fowler Chase at Fairyhouse January (2m4f) is an option, I've not thought a whole lot beyond here but it's a nice start.”
This is a small shame. She is clearly good enough for the boys, but oh well.
As for other on-the-track efforts, Henry de Bromhead seemed pretty positive on FRUIT DE MER after he won the 2m3f maiden hurdle. He’s a three-mile PtP winner, and he was impressive over the final two. Albert Bartlett-type?
And, finally for Naas, SPILLANE’S TOWER finished 9th of 14 in the 2m4f handicap hurdle off 130. Yes, it was a prep run for the Betfair Chase, but he was super well-backed, and he ran like a drain. But, still, this was a prep for Haydock, right guys? All is surely okay.
Ah, clearly not. Yes, Jimmy Mangan has ruled last year’s John Durkan runner-up out of the Betfair Chase on account of how badly he ran yesterday. He said: "I thought he would come on a bit for the run, but I didn't think he would be as far back as he was. But, look, Monty's Pass or Stroll Home never won a hurdle race. A lot of my good horses never won a hurdle race, but were a different horse altogether when they saw a fence. I would say this fella is the same.
"He won't go to Haydock for the Betfair Chase; that would come too soon for him now. We might go back to the John Durkan, maybe, but we'll see."
Unfortunately, SPILLANE’S TOWER surely has to win the prize for worst-campaigned Grade 1 horse of 2025, right? Well-beaten in a King George, well-beaten in a Punchestown Gold Cup, and well-beaten in a 2m4f handicap hurdle. That’s been his campaign since Boxing Day.
And now, because he is behind where Jimmy Mangan thought he was at home, he will miss the Betfair Chase. Where does he go now? Savills Chase to be beaten by FACT TO FILE or GALOPIN DES CHAMPS? Pretty dire stuff.
Finally for Sunday (big section), we learnt that KOPEK DES BORDES could make his chasing debut at Navan next weekend, which is also a two-mile beginners chase that Gordon Elliott is thinking of for BRIGHTERDAYSAHEAD. Would they do it? Would they? Please do it – just how tasty would that be?
Oh, and Nicky Henderson will not send LULAMBA to France for a lucrative hurdles race, and he will instead go over fences. He has always been a chaser in the making, so this comes as no surprise, but it just means that we officially know, and we could have LULAMBA vs KOPEK DES BORDES at some stage this season. We could also have BRIGHTERDAYSAHEAD in the mix somewhere, which would be so cool.
SATURDAY
Paul Nicholls had four winners this weekend, and yet he has probably walked away with something in his brain that he just couldn’t quite itch. That something is probably the fact that both RUBAUD and BLUEKING D’OROUX won their respective Grade 2s while looking very beatable, and considering RUBAUD was sent off an SP of 1/8, that’s an impressive feat.
Credit where credit’s due, HAMLET’S NIGHT gave him a proper race in the Grade 2 Elite Hurdle. He will be very interesting going forward, though we half think the handicapper may ruin him tomorrow, but RUBAUD has been such a reliable figure for some time, and Saturday were the first signs of proper worry. Nicholls thinks this race came too soon after a big race at Kempton, which could be the case, but there could be chance to take him on later this season if the right horse tries to take him on.
Moving on BLUEKING D’OROUX, Nicholls said that if he lost on Saturday they’d go back to hurdles. To be honest, Paul, we’d still suggest going back to those smaller obstacles even though he did get his head in front. He just doesn’t jump with fluency.
There are plenty of races for him over hurdles, notably the Grade 2 Select Hurdle that he won last season and the Grade 2 National Spirit Hurdle at Fontwell in February. Nicholls is a classy target trainer, as seen with PIC DORHY and RUBAUD over the last few years, so pick up those contests, keep Johnny de la Hey happy, and keep rolling on.
He will struggle to win chase races going forward if he has to take on any horses better than the 127-rated BREAKING COVER, 127-rated RIGHTSOTOM, and 133-rated COBRA QUEEN. That may seem harsh, but it’s true. Finally, what was the horse that impressed us the most? MAMBONUMBERFIVE would have to be up there. He’s still just four, be he jumped like an experienced handicapper on Saturday, and Pauling has always been very sweet on him. He was a chaser all over last year as a juvenile hurdler, and luckily for connections (and fans), he has proved that this statement was correct.
Depending on how he comes out the race, he could run at Newbury next week on Coral Gold Cup weekend, but we wouldn’t be surprised if he went to the Grade 2 Noel Novices’ Chase, as this was a race Pauling should have won with PERSONAL AMBITION last season.
WEEKEND EYE-CACTHERS
CHAMPAGNE TWIST – SATURDAY 13.30 AINTREE
CHAMPAGNE TWIST had a bit of a bad year last season. He unseated Ben Jones at Cheltenham in November, was smashed up at Ascot in December, and then ran no race at Huntingdon in January. Ben Pauling pulled the plug on the season after that, and apparently he bled at Ascot and Huntingdon, which is a worry. Still, Pauling thought “he might nearly be a horse for the Stayers’ Hurdle after winning the EBF Final the season before” according to his Sporting Life stable tour, and he ran a good race on chasing debut on Saturday. He probably needed it, but Pauling still thinks he could be a “proper Saturday handicap type of horse” this season, and he ran off 129 on Saturday. He will be worth watching closely next time out.
JUBILEE ALPHA – SATURDAY 13.45 WINCANTON
JUBILEE ALPHA still being rated 137, or somewhere near that after tomorrow’s reassessment, could still be the gift that keeps on giving. On a weekend that saw Paul Nicholls’ horses potentially underperforming, she ran a blinder on her seasonal reappearance when she was backed like losing was out of the question. Even in the trenches of Nicholls’ poor 2024-25 season, she still turned up, gave it her all, and invariably won. She found the race-fit SWEET CARYLINE too good on Saturday, which is fine as she was still an unexposed improver (rated 95 in November, now off 111).
She could easily win Listed/Graded mares-only races this season (Grade 2 Warfield Mares’ Hurdle at Ascot in January, Listed Warwick Mares’ Hurdle over 2m5f in February), or if Nicholls was feeling a bit fruity, why not try handicaps? The Ladbroke over two miles, or maybe even the old Betfair Hurdle?
That would be fun, but ultimately, she will be winning races this season. She is the model of consistency, and the final flight error cost her on Saturday.
WHITE RHINO - SATURDAY 14.40 AINTREE
We all know what happened here. He was given a lovely introduction to life over the Aintree fences and we imagine he’ll be a different horse in his next assignment - the Becher Chase!
RISK ON
There seems to be a bit of a gamble on the Scholfield horse in the 15.40 which we’ll watch with interest as Nick, who will have been desperate for a good start to his training career, might have lined a few up.
We’ll also be watching Supreme contender MYDADDYPADDY for the Skeltons in the 12.45.
A day of watching for us but we have played a small exotic on the Tote in the bumper as previewed in the premium section.
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