2023/24 National Hunt Horses – Four To Follow

First of all, we’ll have a quick look back at last year’s four horses to follow. Then, we’ll highlight four 2023/24 National Hunt horses to follow, all from ‘lesser’ yards.

Tommy’s Oscar

Didn’t manage to land a Grade 1 as I hoped but still had a pretty decent year. Placed in a G2 Novice Chase at Cheltenham in November then ran poorly back over hurdles in the Fighting Fifth. Got off the mark in Grade 2 company over fences at Donny in January and was only seen once more when beaten a neck off 152 on unsuitably heavy ground at Carlisle in March.

Won a £21k handicap at Kelso on his return off 152 by 6L when it was reported he wasn’t fully fit. Unfortunately, Cheltenham probably won’t be on the radar due to Ann Hamilton’s disdain for the place but should be up to landing a few nice pots on flat tracks this season.

The Big Doyen

Very unfortunate not to shed maiden tag over hurdles at Punchestown when demoted. Disappointed in Listed company at Navan in February and then ran ok when midfield in a Grade A handicap at Fairyhouse. All those runs came at 16f but the step up to 20f has transformed him.

He first hacked up in a Tipperary maiden at 20f (gd/yld). Then, he won a competitive Novice at the Galway Festival (20.5f gd/yld). Last weekend he ran a very nice race on ground that wasn’t ideal behind a well regarded Mullins’ horse in a Listed hurdle at Limerick, picking up some black type. All the big festivals in the Spring on decent ground surely beckon.

Might I

Never hit the heights I had hoped. I thought he’d be a candidate for the Stayers’ Hurdle but the best runs of his campaigns came when 2nd in a handicap hurdle at Cheltenham in January and then when 4th over 20f in another handicap at the Festival in March.

Made a solid enough start over fences at Newton Abbott in October, beat a length by the 152 rated Complete Unknown. Should make a chaser on pedigree and will be interesting to see how he fares this season.

Rexem

Definitely wasn’t one to follow. His summer form last year didn’t transfer to a Winter campaign. The first time he ran after I flagged him up he was beat 153 lengths at Cheltenham. In two runs in February he was beat a combined distance of 40 lengths.

John McConnell decided to go the chasing route and he just about got off the mark at the fourth attempt in a Ludlow novice in early October. Needs good ground but he hasn’t progressed like I thought he would. Safe to say, he was a dud.

2023/24 National Hunt Horses: Four To Follow

A Piece Of Heaven – Barry Fitzgerald

This horse first came to my attention in the Irish Champion Bumper last season. After a pleasing debut at the same track in October 2022 when fourth (16f gd), the son of Jukebox Jury wasn’t seen again until the Grade 1 bumper at the Festival in April. Sent off at 150/1, he ran a cracking race to finish 4th behind A Dream To Share.

Okay, he was beat 17.5L for the win but he was only 6L behind King of Kingsfield in third and it was some run for a young, inexperienced horse having just his second start under rules. He’s been seen twice since with both runs coming on the flat.

In June, he ran a very nice race in a 15f maiden at Leopardstown, finishing fourth, 6L behind the 147 rated chaser Enniskerry. He was only a length behind Mon Couer, a horse that was beat just 2.5l off 88 in the Naas November handicap.

His next run at Gowran (14f gd) saw him finally get off the mark. He won in fine style by nearly 3L, virtually making all. Uxmal finished back in second and he has since been beat a neck in Listed company in France, finishing ahead of subsequent G3 winner Caius Chorister.

Good Ground Vital

Good ground seems to be key for this son of Jukebox Jury. He is clearly a horse with a lot of ability looking at his last flat run and he should have the stamina for 20f at the very least on that evidence. He is rated 85 on the flat and on that Gowran form, that mark looks very workable. Cesarewitch next year, perhaps? 

A maiden hurdle win should be well within his grasp, once he can jump, and he’ll be one to watch out for on good ground this season. After he won at Gowran, Fitzgerald said the ground is massively important for him so it is unlikely we’ll see him on bad ground in the Winter. Given how well he stays, maybe the Albert Bartlett could be a possibility in the Spring if he does make a winning debut over timber?

Jukebox Jury has already sired some quality NH horses like Il Etait Temps, Farclas and War Lord. In A Piece Of Heaven, he might just have another good one.

Notlongtillmay – Laura Morgan

Leicestershire based trainer Laura Morgan could have a potential star on her hands in the shape of Notlongtillmay. A son of Malinas, he was ultra progressive last year. Formerly trained by Chris Gordon, for whom he won a Fontwell Novice Hurdle, this 7yo surged through the novice chasing ranks in 2022/23.

On his first start for Morgan last November he landed a novice handicap chase at Wetherby (15f gd) off 120. After a couple of months off he then returned with an emphatic win at Musselburgh, beating the pretty useful Barrichello by 16L off 124 (20.5f sft). A month later he repeated the trick at the same track (20.5f gd/sft), giving Half Shot 15lbs in weight and a 9L beating off 134.

Up In Class

The handicapper gave Notlongtillmay an 8lb rise for that dominant display, raising him to 142. Morgan could easily have gone for a handicap at one of the Spring Festivals but she decided to give her stable star a chance to shine at the top level in the Turner’s Novice Chase at Cheltenham. He didn’t let his trainer down.

Sent off at 40/1, he ran an absolute blinder to finish second, 3L behind the winner Stage Star and ahead of the likes of poor old Mighty Potter (162) and Appreciate It (152).

Morgan has her charge entered up at both Cheltenham (16f handicap) and Aintree (20f G2 handicap) this weekend. The Cheltenham race is probably easier, but he’ll have to carry top weight and Morgan might head to Aintree for softer ground. Whatever race she goes for, she looks to have a very talented chaser on her hands and once he stays healthy, Notlongtillmay should have a big season ahead of him.

Dare To Shout – Ann Hamilton

Tommy’s Oscar has been the shining light for this small northern yard in the last couple of seasons. They may have found another decent one. Dare To Shout, a recruit from Irish P2Ps, has won three of his five starts under rules and he has finished out of the first two just once.

This 6yo son of Martaline bumped into the very useful Colonel Harry on his hurdling debut at Newcastle (17f sft). He was beaten into 2nd by 8L but the winner had already won a maiden and finished fourth in the G1 Tolworth Hurdle on his previous start. He then finished a close 2nd in a Kelso G2 next time out, so the form is solid.

Confirmed Promise

Dare To Shout’s jumping was a bit careful on debut but he confirmed the promise of that run next time at Kelso (16f gd). This time he made a mistake at the first but his jumping improved as the race went on and he pinged the last on his way to beating odds on shot Richhill by 8.5L.

On his next start he scored in a Novice at Newcastle (17f hvy) under a penalty, winning cosily by 2.5L. His jumping was much better from start to finish and the runner up won a handicap on his next start.

The only blot on Dare To Shout’s copybook came on his handicap debut at Wetherby. He was beat 26L off 126 but he had excuses. It was only 13 days after his heavy ground win at Newcastle and the fact that he had a wind op afterwards suggests that he may not have been 100%.

Up In Trip

The grey returned to action at Hexham in early October. Hamilton stepped him up to 20f (sft) and while it was hard work, he took the scalp of Monochromix, to whom he was giving 17lbs in weight. He got a 5lb hike for that win and he is entered in a decent 20f handicap hurdle at Aintree this weekend.

Is this lad going to hit the same heights as his stablemate Tommy’s Oscar? It is hard to know, but he is a half-brother to the late useful mare Yukon Lil and his dam won a Grade 2 novice hurdle (rated 146) so he is certainly bred to be better than his current mark of 128.

I’d imagine long term, his future will lie over fences but he should be up to winning a few over the smaller obstacles in the meantime and it’ll be interesting to see how he progresses.

Giovinco – Lucinda Russell

Few trainers have started the season better than Lucinda Russell. At the time of writing on Tuesday, three of her last four runners had won and in Giovinco, she has an extremely exciting prospect on her hands. By Walk In the Park, this 6yo has a flawless three race record under rules and he is back in action this Thursday at Carlisle.

This horse took three goes to get off the mark in P2Ps. Well beat on debut and a faller on his second try, he eventually got his win at Dromahane, all out to beat Quantum Storm by a head. Russell splashed out £85k for him at the sales last December and as far as P2P purchases go at the moment, he is looking like a bargain.

Easy Wins

Giovinco has had three runs so far and they have all resulted in easy victories. He landed a three runner novice at Ayr (20f gd) on debut by 11L. On heavy ground next time he carried a penalty to victory, beating Busty Boy by 9L. Neither piece of form is particularly strong but his third run proved he is a proper horse.

In that listed novice hurdle at Perth last April he was sent off a 10/1 shot. Up against solid 130s horses, he made short work of them and hacked up by a dozen lengths. This scopey sort should have plenty more to come this season and his dam is a half-sister to Reynoldstown and London National winner Rocky Creek. 

He’s due to make his seasonal reappearance in a decent Novice Chase at Carlisle on Thursday, hopefully he can win that and go on to much bigger and better things this year.

-DaveStevos