Six Horses to Follow for the 2025/26 National Hunt Season

by , 23 October 2025

The wait is over, jumps racing is back, and the 2025/26 National Hunt season promises to be a corker. Memories of the Cheltenham and Aintree festivals are still vivid, but fresh, exciting storylines are waiting to unfold.

James Reveley Riding Il Est Francais to Win at Kempton Park.

Kept to flat tracks, Il Est Francais is expected to land a big contest in Britain during the season ahead. © Getty Images

Drama, Supreme Talent, and Surprises.

From rising novice prospects over hurdles and fences to established Grade 1 stars seeking further glory, the 2025/26 jumps racing campaign promises no shortage of drama, supreme talent, and surprises.

In this guide, we pinpoint six horses that could light up winter weekends and carve their names into jump racing history. At the very least, our sextet should pave their way in prize money and could turn a profit for those who like a bet with the UK’s leading bookmakers.

Ile EST Francais a Boxing Day Knockout?

Seven times a winner at French jumps racing’s Mecca, Auteuil, Il Est Francais hit the headlines when trouncing his rivals in the Ladbrokes Kauto Star Novices’ Chase at Kempton Park in December 2023.

He returned to the UK 12 months later to contest the King George VI Chase, where he jumped his rivals ragged but was caught close home to finish second. Three subsequent runs have been indifferent.

Il Est Francais will be trained in the UK this season, meaning he is unlikely to mix hurdle and chase racing, which is a positive. It is easy to forget that he is still only seven, suggesting that he should be approaching his prime, and the physical ailments that have hindered him could become a thing of the past.

Likely to be kept to flat tracks, the Cheltenham Festival may not be on Il Est Francais’ agenda. However, Kempton’s Boxing Day meeting and a second crack at the King George look ideal, as does the Aintree Festival towards the end of the season.

Gaelic Warrior Can Jump to the Top

Having been brushed aside by Galopin Des Champs in two previous starts, Inothewayurthinkin was a surprise winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Both horses have form intertwined with Fact To File, and this trio head the betting for the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

However, a horse that has yet to meet any of these established stars, Gaelic Warrior, could run up a sequence of top-drawer chase victories and claim the hallowed Gold Cup itself.

Nine times a winner and four times a runner-up from 15 UK/Irish starts, this German-bred has already recorded a victory and two seconds at the Cheltenham Festival. Gaelic Warrior missed the 2025 event in favour of the Aintree Festival, where he went beyond three miles for the first time and won impressively at Grade-1 level.

Last season was rounded out with a comfortable success in Sandown Park’s bet365 Oaksey Chase, which sent his official rating up to 170. There could be much more to come, and with his stamina now proven and an apparent liking for the spring months, Gaelic Warrior could be at the top of the chasing charts in 2026.

Anzadam Could Assume Champion Crown

Twice a winner in France and a Grade-3 winner on his Irish debut, Anzadam took his career record to four from four when winning in a canter at Naas in January. Consequently, he is not a dark horse, but he has become a forgotten horse.

What trainer Willie Mullins described as a “little injury” saw Anzadam swerve the remainder of the 2024/25 campaign. At the time, he was just 10/1 to beat the likes of Constitution Hill and State Man in the Unibet Champion Hurdle.

As great as that pair are, they will turn nine in January. Anzadam is only five years old, meaning he represents the next generation of star hurdlers. About his charge, Mullins recently confirmed: “He looks to have enough potential to be sent down the Champion Hurdle route.”

Never one to confuse his ducks with swans, Anzadam could easily run up a sequence of victories before claiming a major Grade-1 at one of the festivals.

Paddy Another Star Chaser for Russell?

Lucinda Russell will forever be associated with the 2023 Grand National and two-time Cheltenham Festival winner, Corach Rambler. She now appears to have another horse with star potential in her care; his name is Derryhassen Paddy.

His unbeaten record may have gone at the 2025 Cheltenham Festival, but, beforehand, this six-year-old was unbeaten in four starts, starting in the point-to-point field, progressing to a bumper and then taking maiden and novice hurdles.

Derryhassen Paddy’s third-placed effort in the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle was full of promise, but it is over obstacles and a demanding trip where he is expected to excel. The Ultima Handicap Chase or Brown Advisory Novice Chase could be his Cheltenham Festival targets.

Novice Success With No Drama?

No Drama This End, representing multiple champion trainer, Paul Nicholls, does belong in the unknown quantity column. Costing £160,000 following a 23-length point-to-point victory, he is likely to be very good!

An impressive rules debut, easily brushing aside 11 rivals in a Warwick bumper, followed. His third and most recent start came in the Cheltenham Bumper, where he finished in the midfield but beat several fancied horses, including the favourite.

Set to embark on his novice hurdling campaign, No Drama This End is an exciting prospect for his once all-conquering trainer and owners, who have enjoyed considerable success down the years.

Papa Can Preach in Novice Division

Paul Nicholls may lack the fleet of outstanding stars that made his yard the yard to fear. However, it is reportedly jam-packed with bright prospects that could go on to achieve big things.

Aged three and raced just once, his Pourquoi Pas Papa is one example. His sole outing was at Clairefontaine, where he finished second to a horse reputedly sold, post-race, for “obscene money”. Other horses in the contest went on to win afterwards, doubtlessly pushing the sales price of both higher.

A son of Manatee, Nicholls has described Pourquoi Pas Papa as “a lovely horse” that he is delighted with. National Hunt novice or juvenile hurdle races will be his early targets.

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