Jumps Ten To Follow – 2015-2016

Run of the Mil - Milsean (left) features in my Ten To Follow and is an early fancy for the NH Chase.

It’s that magical time of year again as the National Hunt season proper edges tantalisingly closer by the day.

That flat turf season has once again had its moments over the sorry excuse for a summer we’ve endured, but the excitement that comes with the return of jumps stars past, present and future simply cannot be rivalled.

As always around this time of year I like to highlight some horses to look out for over the winter months in a blatant rip-off of the popular Ten To Follow format.

We all know about the big guns likely to be making headlines over the coming months – Faugheen, Un De Sceaux, Vautour et al (what an embarrassment of riches Willie Mullins truly has) but what about some potential greats that could make an even bigger name for themselves this season?

We’re hardly talking curveballs here but we’re trying to stay away from the blindingly obvious and flag up horses that will hopefully build on promise already shown and go on to establish themselves in the upper echelons of the British and Irish National Hunt hierarchy.

So without further waffle from me, here is my Jumps Ten To Follow for 2015-2016:

1. Pylonthepressure – As already mentioned, Willie Mullins yet again has an unbelievably strong hand coming in to the jumps season, and his novices across both disciplines once again look the part already. It’s nigh on impossible to pick out just one and you could very easily just fill this list with Mullins novices.

However pick out just one novice hurdler is what I have done and that chosen beast is Pylonthepressure. I was really taken with this horse on his first two starts last campaign and was bitterly disappointed when he was withdrawn on the morning of the Champion Bumper at Cheltenham.

He did eventually make it to a Champion Bumper though taking in the Punchestown version at the end of April, but could only manage fifth under Jane Mangan. Well beaten in the end by stable mate Bellshill, although chasing home that horse along with the likes of Disko (more on him in a minute) and the experienced Modus was no disgrace and the first half of the field pulled very well clear of the remainder.

In typical Mullins Bumper horse fashion he dotted up on debut winning at a skinny price at Thurles, he was then, surprisingly given connections, sent off as the second choice of the punters when making all to easily dispose of Gordon Elliot’s Space Cadet at Naas. The way he stretched on and hit the line full of running that day was impressive and marked him out as one of the better members of Mullins’s crop of Bumper horses last term.

Chasing the pace in the Champion Bumper at Punchestown looked to cost him as all those who passed him came from off the pace but there was a lot to like about the way he stuck to the task, and given that he was giving 6lb to two of the four horses that beat him and was only 3 lengths in arrears to them probably means he deserves marking up somewhat on that finishing position.

His best performance last season was over 2m3f and he’s already proven himself in testing conditions so there is a chance that the ground was a little fast for him at Punchestown and perhaps the trip a little on the sharp side. I’d expect him to be better over further this season having looked t have been done for a turn of foot at Punchestown – although it would be great to see him try and make all in the Supreme a la Champagne Fever a couple of years back – but I’d say the Neptune or the Albert Bartlett, possibly the former will be more likely to be on his radar.

There is obviously a lot of fun and games to come over the coming season as the Mullins deck is shuffled and re-shuffled but Pylonthepressure looks to have a big year ahead of him wherever he ends up.

Supreme: 25/1 (Sky Bet), Neptune: 25/1 (Bet365)

2. Disko – Caught everyone’s eye when running away with a Punchestown Bumper in February having been somewhat overlooked in the preliminaries in favour of the well-related Jett.

It was impossible not to be impressed with the way in which he took the field apart under Nina Carberry though and he was duly sent off favourite for the Punchestown Champion Bumper at the end of the season.

He could only finish second there behind Bellshill but for one so inexperienced to beat home a seasoned crop of Bumper performers from the top operations was no mean feat. He looks an extremely exciting prospect for Noel Meade for the season ahead and I for one can’t wait for him to make his debut over timber.

The Supreme or the Neptune look like the likely festival targets for the grey.

Supreme: 25/1 (Sky Bet, Bet365), Neptune 20/1 (Sky Bet, Bet365)

3. General Principle – Another impressive Gigginstown Bumper performer from last season and arguably one of the most impressive National Hunt Flat Race winners of the whole campaign having destroyed a Punchestown field by 22l on debut.

Back in second that day was Prince D’aubrelle for Willie Mullins a horse that has subsequently come out and won two NHF races over the summer, including one at the Galway Festival.

Gigginstown then broke their own self-imposed Bumper ban at Cheltenham to run General Principle in the Champion Bumper, where he was reasonably well-fancied in a typically strong renewal. He endured a luckless passage there however and was caught wide most of the way, he did look at one stage as though he was coming with a run round the field before fading up the hill to finish a somewhat disappointing 11th, the Punchestown Champion Bumper winner was only a 2l or so ahead of him in 10th though so it gives you an idea of the strength of last season’s Cheltenham Bumper.

Gordon Elliot’s charge is under the right care to make a huge splash over obstacles and though likely a chaser biding his time over hurdles an exciting novice campaign over timber looks on the cards.

Currently not quoted in any Cheltenham Festival markets

4. Minella Rocco – Jonjo O’Neill’s unbeaten JP McManus-owned five-year-old could not have been more impressive in his two novice hurdle wins last term and though both came at long odds-on and he missed what would have been his sternest test to date when declared a non-runner at Aintree the future still looks a bright one with a novice chase campaign beckoning.

He may not have Tony McCoy in the saddle this season but the beating he gave West Wizard – a largely disappointing but well-regarded horse – on his debut marked him down as a horse of unlimited potential. He then tanked through a Newbury hurdle under a motionless McCoy to win with any amount in hand despite a blunder at the last flight.

The son of Shirocco should be a standing dish in all the best domestic novice chase races from 2m4f-3m and will likely be well-supported in ante-post markets for the JLT or more likely for me the RSA.

RSA: 16/1 (Bet365), JLT: 16/1 (Sky Bet)

5. Southfield Theatre – Paul Nicholls inmate that has won 8 of his 18 starts to date, progressing from a good hurdler (excellent, narrow second in 2014 Pertemps Final at the Festival behind Fingal Bay) to a very good novice chaser last term.

Won first two starts over fences in facile fashion before being turned over at odds on by Carraig Mor at Newbury, given a break then to freshen him up he returned to beat Melodic Rendezvous at Exeter.

Then ran an absolute blinder in the RSA to finish second behind runaway winner Don Poli when suffering bad cut to his leg which ruled out any further racing post Cheltenham.

Huge second season over the big obstacles surely on the cards and could still be well-handicapped for something like the Hennessy or even, given his form over the interim distance, the Paddy Power Gold Cup.

Could also be a lively Gold Cup each-way bet longer term and looks sure to be another string to an already powerful bow for the champion trainer.

King George: 25/1 (Stan James), Gold Cup: 33/1 (Paddy Power)

6. Milsean – Yet another for Gigginstown and Willie Mullins, further serving to spotlight the embarrassment of riches both possess for the coming season.

Milsean made a big impression in Bumpers the season before last and arrived over hurdles with a lot of hype.

Duly obliged on debut at a skinny price before two odds on defeats put a major cloud of his supposedly big future leading to him drifting to a frankly ridiculous 66/1 on the morning of the Albert Bartlett. Started at 33/1 for that race in the end and broke my heart when collared by Martello Tower on the run-in to go down by 1/2l and deny me my biggest ever priced winner.

Made all in the Albert Bartlett and looked for all the world to have been crying out for the step up in trip and to just grind his opponents in to submission.

Testing nature of the Albert Bartlett suggests he will stay all day and should be a monster novice chaser in the staying contests this season with the four- miler looking the natural race for him.

Given the other novice chasers both Mullins and Gigginstown have and the whole ‘where will Don Poli run? conundrum’ before this year’s festival, providing No More Heroes stacks up to be the RSA horse most think he will (more on that later) Milsean could very well be another well-backed Patrick Mullins ride in the NH Hunt Chase.

National Hunt Chase: 12/1 (Paddy Power), RSA: 33/1 (Betfair Sportsbook), World Hurdle: 40/1 (Stan James)

7. Hargam – Arrived in Nicky Henderson’s yard last season as a juvenile with a big reputation from France having been with Alain De Royer Dupre on the flat.

Narrowly beaten on debut at Cheltenham by the more experienced Golden Doyen before getting off the mark at the same venue a month later beating useful yardstick Karezak.

Facile victory at Musselburgh in festival prep saw him encounter the best ground he had over jumps until that point and he duly turned in his most visually impressive performance sauntering to an easy win.

Finished in the bronze-medal position in the Triumph forming part of a 1-2-3 for his trainer. Travelled well for a long way before ground got the better of him having turned soft following the onslaught of rain Prestbury Park suffered Thursday in to Friday last Festival week.

Many were excited to see him on better ground and on a flat track on the back of that run and he was accordingly sent off odds on favourite at Aintree but ultimately disappointed in a big way only managing to trail home sixth.

Deserves the benefit of the doubt for that shocker and the hope is he was just over the top following a tough race at Cheltenham – he wouldn’t be the first horse to flop at Aintree following a good run at Cheltenham and he won’t be the last.

Will likely go chasing eventually, but for this season could win some good races over hurdles if kept away from his stable mates given lack of top quality hurdlers domestically away from the Henderson yard.

Cheltenham might not suit him ideally but I could still see him bagging a place in the Champion Hurdle given his ground.

Champion Hurdle: 40/1 (Bet365)

8. Aux Ptits Soins – Massive talking horse for Paul Nicholls in the build-up to the Cheltenham festival that justified the hype by when winning the Coral Cup on his first start on British soil.

You generally need to be a very good or extremely well handicapped horse to land arguably the most competitive race at the festival so for Aux Ptits Soins to land the race on his first start for Nicholls meant he could just have been both, but either way it marked him down as a very smart prospect indeed, especially after throwing in a couple of dodgy leaps on the way round.

Has reportedly had a couple of issues over the summer so won’t be seen back now until the New Year but when he does make his belated reappearance he can be expected to be towards the fore in whichever novice chase division he goes for.

Owner John Hales has had some top class horses over the years and he could very well have another on his hands here and being trained by the genius that is Paul Nicholls, he’s certainly under the right care.

Arkle: 16/1 (Bet Victor), RSA: 16/1 (Bet365), JLT: 14/1 (Bet Victor)

9. Flintham - Brother to Gold Cup hero Coneygree and previous Hennessy winner Carruthers, and like his siblings also trained by the Bradstocks.

Won three out of six last season but came up short when stepping out of handicaps to contest better races, including pulling up after a bitterly disappointing effort in an Aintree Grade 1 when last seen.

To be fair, not many got home that day, but whether he’s quite up to Grade 1 level remains to be seen. He’s likely improved beyond handicaps over hurdles now so if kept to that route could have a lower Grade in him but it’s as a novice chaser, given the exploits of his family, that he could be an exciting prospect indeed.

If he does go over fences, which I think looks likely, he will be of obvious interest in the top novice staying events and could yet be another star member of an already very famous family.

RSA: 33/1 (Bet Victor)

10. No More Heroes – By Presenting, Gordon Elliot’s charge, like Milsean with whom he enjoyed a good battle in a Naas Bumper last February, arrived over hurdles with a big reputation following his National Hunt Flat Race exploits.

He duly lived up to the hype winning at a short price on debut before readily accounting for the favoured Shaneshill over an inadequate 2m4f at Navan.

That win catapulted him to the front of the Albert Bartlett market, but a tame effort at Leopardstown in January in which he could only finish fifth – albeit in a race from which the form has worked out exceptionally well – tempered enthusiasm for his festival chances somewhat.

Reports of him scoping dirty offered some form of excuse for the run and he still went off second favourite for the Albert Bartlett in which he arguably may have won had his jockey not gone for a non-existent gap up the rail causing him to lose all momentum at a crucial juncture.

The war of attrition the novices’ staying hurdle turned in to proved what a stayer No More Heroes is and in all honesty it was no surprise to see him flop at Punchestown on his final start after such a slog at Cheltenham.

Chasing was always set to be his game though and he’s been at the head of the RSA market since it was priced up. He reminds of Don Cossack in a way and should prove even better once sent over bigger obstacles.

A big novice chase season looks in prospect but like his multiple Grade 1- winning stable mate this year might not see him at his absolute best as he continues to develop under one of the best trainers around.

In time though I firmly believe that No More Heroes will be an absolute beast over fences and I’ll be watching his novice chase campaign with a very keen eye.

RSA: 12/1 (Sky Bet), World Hurdle: 25/1 (Sky Bet)

Bet To Have Now:-

Milsean 0.5pt e/w @ 12/1 in the National Hunt Chase (Paddy Power)