The 2023/24 National Hunt season is now upon us, with the first real meeting of the new season at Chepstow all done and dusted over the weekend.
We’re now going to introduce you to eight horses to keep on eye on for the season ahead, all for various trainers.
We’ve also managed to get some extra insights straight from the horseman’s mouth, with Brendan Powell jr. adding his views on a couple of Joe Tizzard’s charges.
Aston Martini
- Trained by Nicky Henderson
We kickstart our list with a really nice-looking prospect for the Nicky Henderson team, Aston Martini made a really good impression at Southwell in June, when winning with ease on racecourse debut.
She was well fancied that day, sent off as the 5/4 favourite, and she duly obliged the market support to win comfortably by five lengths. She travelled supremely well throughout the race that day, and went into the lead with two furlongs to go before pulling away nicely down the Southwell straight.
Henderson has stated she has summered very well and certainly looks the part, ready to go novice hurdling this season. The manner in which she won her bumper race shows she is switched on, quite talented and she is in perfectly capable hands to turn her into a decent prospect for the season ahead.
Bad
- Trained by Ben Pauling
This horse could very well be on the to-follow list of a few people, just solely because Bad was thrown straight into the deep end by Ben Pauling when running in the Boodles at the Cheltenham Festival last March.
That was his first run for his new yard since coming over from France, where he won on one occasion and placed the two other times that he ran for trainer D Guillemin over there.
As mentioned he was given a big ask when lining up at the Cheltenham Festival, and although he came 12th of 21 runners, he was only beaten by a dozen lengths, looking keen throughout despite losing his right hind shoe.
Pauling then sent him to Ascot, where he came sixth of 12 in a decent little juvenile contest, not beaten far and was looking a little green throughout again, and was probably quite unlucky not to finish closer to the horses ahead of him.
Ben has said he really thinks the world of this horse, who he expects to pick up some decent prize money throughout the season, and he will surely only improve with more racing.
Call The Dance
- Trained by Nicky Henderson
Another very nice Nicky Henderson type in the making, Call The Dance was bred by her owners James and Jean Potter, and was a very decent fourth in a bumper contest at Ludlow on her racecourse debut in January, before going on to win her next start under Nico De Boinville at Southwell.
The yard likes to send a few bumper runners to Southwell, as they have had many winners there with their youngsters, and the signs are that once Call The Dance jumps a hurdle, she could be a real force in the mares’ novice division.
That performance at Southwell on her last start produced a Racing Post rating of 102, which is a decent effort considering it was just her second day at school. She took a keen hold throughout the race, before going on to forge clear two furlongs out, eventually winning very comfortably by three lengths.
Her trainer has stated she could be a very nice type this season, and all being well will be aimed at the Mares Novice Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival come March, so very much one to keep an eye on as the new season progresses.
Diamond Ri
- Trained by Joe Tizzard
Another who looks to have quite a nice future over novice hurdles this season, Joe Tizzard's chestnut son of Diamond Boy put in a Racing Post rating of 115 for his only bumper run. That was at the end of March at Warwick, where he was sent off the 11/4 market leader with Brendan Powell Jr taking the ride.
Considering he ran green at times, that was a really nice effort from him, and it takes a decent type to win a bumper at Warwick on his first attempt, especially in the manner that he did.
He was placed midfield throughout before going on to surge clear with three furlongs to go, before pulling clear, looking green down the straight to win by 13 lengths, which could have been more had he not been eased down towards the finish.
Tizzard has stated he thinks this could easily be a graded winner in the making as a novice, and he is a very exciting horse for connections. The yard have won the Tolworth a few times in recent years, so Diamond Ri could be one to pencil in for that contest this season.
Brendan Powell’s insights:
- "Diamond Ri is an exciting young horse, won his bumper well and will go jumping , it’s early days with him but he has showed us signs that he could be a smart type"
El Elefante
- Trained by Lucinda Russell
Lucinda Russell could have a really productive season this term, and with her stable stars like Ahoy Senor, Corach Rambler and Apple Away leading the line for the yard, they will be searching for a nice novice to add to the ranks.
Her chestnut mare out of Ol' Man River could very much be that one to go to new heights this season after quite a productive campaign in bumpers last term. Runner-up in a point-to-point in Ireland, El Elefante will most likely have the makings of a nice chaser further down the line, but her two bumper performances suggest she isn't a slow type and can mix it up over hurdles at most trips this season.
A four-length winner at Musselburgh in March, she then backed that up under a penalty at Kelso to win even further by six lengths. She has already had the one start over hurdles, when putting in by far a career best performance to win a novices’ contest at Perth, where she jumped very well and won with relative ease by 24 lengths.
A big priced runner came 2nd, so that form probably won’t hold up too well, but the manner in which she won suggests she will be even better over this sort of trip with obstacles in front of her. She remains unbeaten in bumpers and a hurdle race, so there is clearly loads of talent in the locker.
Fiercely Proud
- Trained by Ben Pauling
Like most of those in this list, Fiercely Proud will be tackling hurdles for the very first time this season. The Ben Pauling horse was a decent bumper performer, winning on debut by just under three lengths at Market Rasen in a juniors bumper for Don Cantillon.
He then backed that up with another nice effort in his first run for Ben Pauling at Cheltenham in January, where he earned a half-length success ahead of a well-fancied runner of Paul Nicholls Meatloaf (who subsequently won after they met here).
The winning margin might not suggest a sparkling performance, but if you watch it back, you can see he ran green and started to hang left up the Cheltenham hill, staying on very well as they ran to the line. That was also a Listed bumper, and the fact that connections pitched him straight into patterned company suggests they think he is a nice, straightforward type.
He then lined up in the Cheltenham Champion Bumper and Aintree Bumper, where he was well beaten, but his trainer has stated he wasn't right for whatever reason and that he is a better horse than he showed on those days.
Ben thinks he is the perfect two-miler with plenty of potential when running over hurdles this season, and the yard is quite excited to see him out this season.
Rightsotom
- Trained by Joe Tizzard
A new recruit for the Joe Tizzard yard, Rightsotom was trained by Thomas Mullins last season, and ran in four hurdle races, winning once and placing in another.
A tidy second on hurdling debut behind Zarak The Brave at Fairyhouse last November, he then went on to run in the Triumph and Juvenile Hurdle at Aintree where he finished sixth and fourth respectively, which were two quite decent performances considering he had yet to enjoy his maiden win at that point.
He then backed that promise up when landing a maiden hurdle at Cork, where he beat L Spy by eight and a half lengths, jumping well to make all and win readily, looking like a nice prospect heading into the new season.
Tizzard has since picked the horse up, for connections who owned Oscar Elite, and Joe has stated this could very much be the horse to replace him. He is an exciting four-year-old and connections are quite excited to see him out very soon.
Brendan Powell’s insights:
- "Rightsotom is a horse that came to us from Ireland and ran in some ultra competitive races with a huge amount of credit each time before winning his maiden - lots of decent form around him and a horse that we are really looking forward to getting out on the track"
Willmount
- Trained by Nicky Henderson
To finish the article, we end with another promising Nicky Henderson horse who was running in bumpers last season - with a little twist, as Willmount was trained by Neil Mulholland back then.
A tidy winner of a point-to-point in Ireland, he then went on to run in two bumpers at Doncaster last season. A 13-length winner on his Rules debut, that was an awesome performance where he beat next-time-out winner Luckie Seven.
Willmount returned to that venue and defied a penalty to win by four and a half lengths, making all to keep on very well. When a horse can overcome a penalty in a bumper, and win in the manner that he showed, he must surely be quite a talented type.
He has since changed hands from Mulholland to Henderson, keeping the same owner, and Nicky has stated he is quite excited to see what he can do this season, and he is very much looking forward to seeing him run over hurdles.