TXMarkets Five to follow in 2026-27 – Dave Stevos

by Dave Stevos | Oct 20, 2026

TXMarkets Five To Follow In 2026-27

Dave Stevos has finished the Flat season strongly and in the coming weeks and months, he’s hoping to find more winners as the National Hunt season clicks into gear. In previous year’s he’s highlighted future graded winners like Glen Kiln and Tommy’s Oscar and the Brown Advisory third, poor old Giovinco. You can check out his TXMarkets Five to follow in 2026-27 piece below and there might even be an ante-post bet in there too.

Fleur In The Park

Trainer – Andrew Slattery; Owner – Mrs Margaret O’Rourke.

I put this 7yo son of Walk In The Park up as a horse to follow for the Racing Post’s Big Jump Off supplement and I am going to put him up for TXMarkets too. He announced himself at the top table when springing a surprise in the 3m1f Grade 1 WillowWarm Gold Cup at Fairyhouse, taking the scalp of the 151 rated Kappa Jy Pyke.

Slattery’s charge proved that wasn’t a fluke when running a cracker in another Grade 1 novice at Punchestown over 3m1f on his final start of the season, finding just the 155 rated Western Fold too good after meeting trouble in running more than once.

In my opinion, that run proved this horse will stay 3 miles and it looked like he had strengthened up for his summer break when bolting up in the Grade 2 Danoli Chase at Gowran on his seasonal return, beating the racefit and 156 rated Blood Destiny by over 6l (and he was conceding 6lb to that rival too).

King George May Beckon

Given that his best form over fences has come going right-handed, I think this exciting prospect could be tailor made for the King George at Kempton on Boxing Day. After he won at Gowran, Andy Slattery stated as much, and before that he’ll likely be running in the Envoi Allen Champion Chase at Down Royal at the end of this month.

He has won a bumper, over hurdles and over fences at 2m so he is a horse that doesn’t lack speed, which is important at Kempton and he seems to be ground versatile too, although he probably wouldn’t want it bottomless, which it rarely is at Kempton these days in any case.

A few firms are already offering ante-post prices for the 2026 King George and Fleur In The Park can be backed at 33s. If he wins, or runs a big race, at Down Royal, those odds will surely tumble and I think he’s worth backing e/w ante-post. Hopefully, he gets there and gives us another big priced King George winner.

TXMarkets Five to follow in 2026-27 Tip: Fleur In The Park e/w for the 2026 King George @ 33/1

Baron Noir

Trainer – Alan King; Owner – Noel Fehilly Racing Syndicate.

Alan King may not have the quality of horse he had back in the days when he regularly plundered prizes at the Cheltenham Festival but he is a trainer who knows his onions and he holds Baron Noir in high regard, and I think he has the potential to be a very good horse too.

This son of Vadamos had some pretty solid form in bumpers and while he was beaten on his hurdling debut at Warwick last November, he soon made amends at Uttoxeter. He then beat the pretty talented Kocktail Bleu in a Kempton novice in January. After that, he pitched up in the Supreme at Cheltenham and ran a blinding race to finish fourth behind Old Park Star.

Scopey 6yo

He probably didn’t run to the same level when third in another G1 at Aintree on his final start of 2026 but it was still a more than decent effort and afterwards, King declared his intent to go novice chasing with this scopey 6yo.

There’s mixed messages in his pedigree as regards him making a chaser but his sire, Vadamos, has produced a couple of good jumpers, including the once 160 rated chaser Matata. King mentioned in a recent interview that he had schooled Baron Noir over fences before he went on his summer break, so presumably that went well if the plan is to go novice chasing.

There’s no doubt that this horse has an engine, and he should stay further than 2m on breeding (3m might be a stretch but his half-brother won over 2m3f). He’s run well at both Cheltenham and Aintree, so he’ll have options come the Spring and he definitely looks like a horse that is worth following over the coming months.

Shuttle Diplomacy

Trainer – Thomas Cooper; Owner – Ciaran John Mooney.

Tralee based trainer Thomas Cooper is probably best known for his exploits with the 2009 Arkle Chase winner Forpadydeplasterer. That was his last Cheltenham Festival winner but as he showed when winning two bumpers at last year’s November meeting that he can still train winners at major meetings and in Shuttle Diplomacy, he has a horse with the potential to have a big season in 2026-27.

By Dschingis Secret, this 6yo’s dam is a half-sister to the late Ferdy Murphy’s classy jumper De Boitron. Third in the 2025 Champion Bumper when an unconsidered 66-1 shot, Shuttle Diplomacy didn’t start last season well. Pulled up at Cork and then tailed off at Limerick, things looked bleak for him but after he bounced back to form with an excellent second to subsequent Festival winner King Rasko Grey (to whom he was conceding 8lb), he finally got off the mark in a Naas maiden hurdle in January (18.5f, heavy).

2m5f Too Far

Cooper decided to step his charge up to 2m5f in the Turners Novice at Cheltenham in March and when they jumped the last, it looked like he was going to play a big part in the finish. However, his effort petered out in the last 100 yards or so and he faded into seventh, just 5l behind the winner King Rasko Grey.

That 2m5f trip may have stretched his stamina and I would imagine he’ll be kept to 2m-2m4f this year. There’s a chance he might go novice chasing, or they may well give him another campaign over hurdles. Whatever decision connections come to, I think Shuttle Diplomacy can make his mark in graded company this season, hopefully at decent odds!

Catchintsavo

Trainer – Anthony Honeyball; Owner – House Family Partnership.

I’ve long been a massive fan of Anthony Honeyball. Back in the days when he was starting out, I used to love backing his horses in bumpers with his partner Rachael Green aboard and while she has long retired from race riding, Honeyball has developed into an excellent NH trainer.

The horse that put him on the map, and who came close to giving him his first G1 win, was the legend Regal Encore. However, I think that Catchintsavo might be the one to break his duck at the highest level.

By crack sire Walk In The Park, this horse won two of his first five starts over hurdles last year, a Ludlow maiden and a Plumpton novice. On his sixth and final start of the 2025-26 season Honeyball pitched this 6yo in at the deep end in the 3m G1 Sefton Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree and the bookies gave him little chance.

Sent off at 33-1, he was ridden from the front and as they turned for home, few were travelling better. He pinged the final hurdle alongside Zeus Power and just ran out of puff in the last 75 yards or so. However, he held on well for second and behind him in fourth was Frankie John, who has since emerged as a really promising novice chaser in Ireland.

Future Grade 1 Winner

Honeyball stated after that cracking Aintree run that “I think next season he’ll be a chaser and I’d be sure he’ll be coming back here for the three-mile novice. He’s already schooling over fences and he’s a really accurate jumper. He’s got scope as well so maybe that’s where he’ll get his Grade 1.”

Bullish words from the Dorset based handler and I have to agree with him based on the way he jumped and travelled in the Sefton. Catchintsavo holds an entry for a 3m1f novice chase at Cheltenham this weekend and if he’s declared, he could be taking on some pretty decent opposition.

He needed the run when well held at the same meeting last year on his seasonal return so he probably won’t be a betting proposition on this occasion but he’ll definitely be worth watching with a view to future engagements. Hopefully, the bookmakers continue to underestimate him.

Lud’or

Trainer: Tom Symonds; Owner – The Ludorums.

Last, but not least, we have Lud’or. Trained in Herefordshire by Tom Symonds, this ex-French performer took a while to get the hang of things over hurdles but he showed massive progression last season on soft ground and he looks the type that could make into a very useful stayer. Whether that will be over hurdles or fences remains to be seen.

By the French sire Nom De D’La, his pedigree is nothing special and that probably explains why he could be bought for just five grand as a 2yo. However, he has finished out of the first three just once in eleven starts and he is a three-time winner over hurdles.

He won his maiden hurdle at Wetherby in February 2025 and on his seasonal return last year at Bangor (19.5f, soft) he was well backed before absolutely bolting up in a handicap hurdle off a mark of 123. On his next start, off 13lb higher, he ran a fine race in another handicap hurdle at Newbury (20.5f, soft) and that saw him hiked up to 139.

After a 50-day break Lud’or next appeared in a valuable handicap hurdle at Windsor, his first try at 3m. He ran another excellent race to finish third and he saw out the trip very well but he probably just didn’t have the speed for that pretty sharp track.

Upped In Grade

Symonds decided to take the plunge into graded company on Lud’or’s next start in the G2 Rendlesham Hurdle at Haydock. Only five ran and it probably wasn’t an extraordinarily strong renewal but Lud’or could only beat what was in front of him and that’s what he did, scoring by 4l from the 141 rated Henri The Second.

That was the last time we saw the 6yo last season, presumably because of the lack of rain. He is a horse that needs cut in the ground, so he is likely to be targeted at something during the winter.

If he is kept over hurdles, something like the Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot would be an ideal target and then it would be a matter of keeping an eye on the weather ahead of all the big Spring Festivals and going wherever he gets his favoured ground. If we have a wet March or April, he might just sneak into the frame in a big one.