THIS Ten to Follow isn’t about only marking up horses who will only run at the big meetings, and as you will see from the selections highlighted, there will be a broad range of race days and racecourses where they will appear. 

Looking forward to a successful season with my Ten To Follow for the 2025/2026 Jumps season.

Cheers

The Wine Tipster    

 

Jeriko Du Reponet (Nicky Henderson Unibet Ambassador)

Jeriko Du Reponet is reappearing for the second year running in my Ten To Follow and last season we were looking forward to him going right to the top in novice chases.

However, as well noted, it all went wrong at Sandown on his debut chase when he got upset before the start and was pulled up.

He returned to hurdling, and at the Cheltenham Festival he finished second in the Pertemps Final to his talented stablemate Doddiethegreat, who looks sure to have another good season and is one to note.

Jeriko Du Reponet then reversed the form with Doddiethegreat at the Punchestown Festival, when remarkably they took the first two places there too, with the winner moving clear impressively after the last and looking a class act.

It is worth remembering that Jeriko Du Reponet is only six years old and has so much potential, and if he takes to novice chasing this season, you can be confident that he will be a serious player in this division.  

 

Music Drive (Kelly Morgan) 

Music Drive is testament to the resurgent point-to-point scene, with his first career two starts in point-to-points in 2021, and then he returned to this code when joining Kelly Morgan in January 2025 from Gordon Elliott after over two years off the course, winning a point-to-point in January and February, respectively. 

Music Drive at 33/1 then ran a blinder in the St. James’s Place Festival Challenge Cup Open Hunters’ Chase in March when coming from way off the pace to finish fourth behind Wonderwall and then was victorious by eight lengths in May at Cheltenham’s Hunter Chase evening. 

This lightly raced eight-year-old, who if finally keeping sound could have a really successful season, surely has the Hunters’ Chase at The Festival 2026 as the target, and the fact that he has winning form on a range of ground conditions is all in his favour.

 

The Big Westerner (Henry de Bromhead)

The Big Westerner is a six-year-old mare who has had four career starts under rules, with her only blip on her last start of the season in the Honeysuckle Mares Novice Hurdle at Fairyhouse in April when pulled up.

She started her career with a point-to-point win in March 2024, then won a maiden at Punchestown in October, and this imposing mare took a Grade 2 Hurdle at Limerick on Boxing Day in good style.

She then went off favourite for the Albert Bartlett at the Cheltenham Festival, and make sure you watch the replay as The Big Westerner was travelling so well until being hampered two out losing ground. Given what happened, she did well to chase home Jasmin De Vaux, who franked the form at the Punchestown Festival, with Derryhassen Paddy in third (another of my Ten To Follow).

The Big Westerner looks made for chasing with bundles of stamina and has the class to be winning novice events before heading back to the Festival.

 

Derryhassen Paddy (Lucinda Russell & Michael Scudamore)

Derryhassen Paddy has a real presence about him, and this tall, strong, good-bodied type has everything you want in a chaser and more.

Last season he showed more than enough over hurdles when a game winner at the Berkshire Windsor Millions meeting in January in the soft and then took a massive step forward on the back of two runs over hurdles to finish third in the Albert Bartlett at the Cheltenham Festival on good to soft when always prominent on his final start of last season. If everything goes to plan, including ground conditions, then he looks a terrific prospect for this season, as he’s going to be a novice chaser that should go to the very top of the tree.

 

Leave Of Absence (Anthony Honeyball)

Leave Of Absence is a lightly raced eight-year-old who really caught the eye at Cheltenham on Saturday in the Novices’ Chase.

In the race, twelve fences were jumped instead of the twenty fences because of the low sun and Leave Of Absence, who likes to be prominent, took up the running from two out (usual four out) to hold off the challenge of Pied Piper with the long run in on the flat.

The RaceiQ data showed what an effective jumper he is and given he is a novice until the end of November the Grade 2 John Francome Novices’ Chase at Newbury is the target.

Leave Of Absence had returned to action for his new trainer after 758 days off the track when second to Iberica Lord at Kempton in November 2024 and then was beaten by an on-song The Changing Man in the Reynoldstown at Ascot.

He then finished the season in March at Newbury when taking the Brown Chamberlain Trophy with a good jumping performance on good to soft.

Leave Of Absence has finished in the first three in his eight career starts, including five wins, with good and good-to-soft going the key to him. It would be interesting to see if he is stepped up beyond three miles and a furlong. An exciting and talented type.  

 

Battle Born Lad (Mark Walford)

Battle Born Lad was a real eye-catcher when taking making all in the Grade 2 Prestige Novices’ Hurdle at Haydock in February, despite clear signs of greenness beforehand, he looked an absolute baby of a horse but one with a huge engine. He then found Aintree a step too far on his only other start when prominent until fading rapidly from four out and then pulled up before the next. It is certainly true to say that his Haydock win wasn’t a fluke; it’s worth remembering he was too good for the well-regarded Wendigo at Hexham on his only other start of the season. Essentially a blank canvas, with a lot of improvement to come. 

 

Davy Crockett (Willie Mullins)

Davy Crockett is impeccably bred by Camelot and Annie Power and made it three out of three at Listowel last month when winning his second novice hurdle comfortably following his victory at the Galway Festival in July. He started his career in June at Punchestown, winning a bumper by nine lengths as the odds-on favourite, which he has been in his subsequent two starts.

It is true to say that Davy Crockett hasn’t been pushed that far as yet in his career and whilst he does need to brush up his jumping, he has looked effective on good ground. Davy Crockett is not an imposing individual, though he clearly has lots of potential, and make sure you keep him in your tracker.

 

Filibustering (Harry Derham)

He was a stayer on the flat for Tim Easterby, winning over one mile six furlongs and placed at two miles. On hurdling debut at Kelso in March he certainly caught the eye when dotting up by a hard held ten lengths for his new yard. Off the back of that he was thrown in at the deep end when sixth to Murcia in the Grade 1 Juvenile Hurdle at Aintree, when showing good pace until fading from two out on good to soft, although it appeared quicker and you wonder if he will step up from running over the minimum trip to two and a half miles.

Filibustering will receive a rating after his next appearance and is an interesting one for handicap hurdles this winter, given he remains totally unexposed and surely is capable of better this year.

 

La Pinsonniere (Nicky Henderson Unibet Ambassador)

La Pinsonniere is a five-year-old mare who, since joining Nicky Henderson has form figures of 21222, with her first appearance for the yard back in December 2024 when she was runner-up in a maiden hurdle. 

She then won at Huntingdon in January and continued to progress with a fine second to Siog Geal in the Mares’ final at Newbury in March, which was followed by her finishing runner-up to Jubilee Alpha in the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle Listed contest when the first two were well clear of the third.

La Pinsonniere looks made for novice chasing, has been running on good and good-to-soft, and will continue to progress for the Nicky Henderson team, who have an excellent record with mares. An exciting prospect.

 

The Jukebox Man (Ben Pauling) 

The Jukebox Box makes an appearance for the second year running, as reports are that everything is promising for his return from injury, which has kept him off course since Boxing Day.

The Jukebox Man was a very good hurdler finishing second in the Albert Bartlett, and then proved last season he was an even more exciting prospect over fences, as he showed on jumping debut at Newbury when looking like he needed the run even though he won comfortably over two miles and four furlongs.

He then stepped up not only in distance to three miles in the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase at Kempton; he travelled so smoothly, jumped superbly, and showed that he had plenty of speed too in defeating the very smart Hyland.

This was one of the most exciting performances of last season, and it would be great to see him run in the King George VI Chase back at Kempton, for which he is currently Unibet 12/1.

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