20 Horses To Follow for the 2026/27 Jumps Season (Part 2: 11 - 20)

Jon Vine

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Last updated: Wed 14 Oct 2026 15:44

Jon Vine 1 hour ago

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Part two of my 20 Horses To Follow for the 2026/27 National Hunt season
The Dog Thief is an exciting horse for Tom Ellis this season
Looping d'Arc, Mossy Fen Road and The Blue Room also feature in our list

Sean Bowen riding The Blue Room (L, red cap) clear to win at Chepstow. (Getty)

20 To Follow (Part 2)

La Conquiere (Jamie Snowden)
Looping d'Arc (Warren Greatrex)
Lord Churchill (Nick Schofield)
Midday Rendezvous (Jennie Candlish)
Mossy Fen Road (Harry Derham)
Peacenik (Katy Price)
Ronnie Russet (Jedd O'Keeffe)
Ti'mamzel (Gary and Josh Moore)
The Dog Thief (Tom Ellis)
The Blue Room (Olly Murphy)

Part two of my 20 Horses To Follow for the 2026/27 National Hunt season, covering horses 11 through 20.

After part one of my new series went live yesterday, here's the second and final part of my 20 To Follow for the new National Hunt season.

20 Horses To Follow 26/27 - Part 2

La Conquiere (Jamie Snowden)

Second in a Grade Two bumper at Aintree on her stable debut, LA CONQUIERE looked very classy during the first half of last season.

Jamie Snowden's seven-year-old won despite doing plenty wrong on her hurdles debut at Uttoxeter before producing a much more polished display in the Listed Mares' Novices' Hurdle at Newbury. La Conquiere was then heavily backed against her elders in the Warfield Mares' Hurdle at Ascot, but was touched off by Ooh Betty in a head-bobbing finish.

Things went a little pear-shaped during the spring, with Gavin Sheehan's mount finishing down the field in the Mares' Novices' Hurdle at Cheltenham and last of the six in the Top Novices' Hurdle at Aintree. Despite those big Festival failings, I think there's a lot more to come from La Conquiere this season, and something like the William Hill Hurdle at Newbury could be a good handicap to target.

Looping d'Arc (Warren Greatrex)

After a spell in the doldrums, Warren Greatrex's yard has seen an upturn in fortunes over the past two seasons. LOOPING D'ARC caught the eye when second to the classy Bass Hunter on his racecourse debut in a bumper at Newbury in November and made no mistake when scoring nicely on his hurdles debut a month later.

James Bowen's mount then proved unsteerable on his first start going right-handed at Hereford but was much better when second under a penalty to Eddie My Eagle at Plumpton. Looping d'Arc was then heavily backed to win a Class 3 handicap at Stratford in March, only to produce a weak performance and finish sixth as Let It Rain romped home for the Skeltons.

Jeu St Eloi has produced several top chasers like Kargese and Blueking d'Oroux, and his half-brother was a solid middle-distance chaser in France. Chasing could be the making of Looping d'Arc, and I'd be disappointed if he didn't progress well beyond his current mark of 117.

Lord Churchill (Nick Schofield)

Nick Schofield has made an excellent start to his training career, saddling 34 winners during his first full National Hunt season, and even had a winning juvenile on the Flat with Theheatison. Schofield proved he could bring about improvement in his stable recruits, so I'm intrigued to see what he'll do with new arrival LORD CHURCHILL.

Owner Simon Smode has moved several of his horses from Seamus Mullins to Schofield, including this gelding. Lord Churchill has only run once under rules so far and was hugely impressive when flattening a future winner by seven lengths in a bumper at Wincanton in April.

Lord Churchill is related to Irish St Leger winner Sonnyboyliston and Willie Mullins' mare Lot Of Joy, who was rated 135 over hurdles. Given how well he won at Wincanton, I expect we'll be seeing Lord Churchill running in Graded novice hurdles during the upcoming campaign. He could even end up at the Cheltenham Festival.

undefined — Paul O'Brien riding Mossy Fen Road clear the last to win The Play Corals Free 'Racing-Super-Series' Novices' Hurdle at Chepstow. (Getty)

Midday Rendezvous (Jennie Candlish)

Jennie Candlish enjoyed another excellent season last term, and she looks to have a nice bunch of novice hurdlers to go to war with this season. One of those is MIDDAY RENDEZVOUS, who claimed back-to-back bumper victories during the spring.

Ian Power delivered Midday Rendezvous in the nick of time to score on their racecourse debut at Newcastle in March. Power again executed waiting tactics perfectly at Kelso, where Candlish's six-year-old won cosily despite giving plenty of weight to a handful of decent rivals.

Midday Rendezvous is related to two multiple winners over obstacles and looks to have enough tactical speed to win over the minimum distance. I expect Candlish will campaign her novice in the north for most of this season. The Morebattle Hurdle at Kelso could be a long-term target.

Mossy Fen Road (Harry Derham)

MOSSY FEN ROAD was one of my leading hopes on last year's list of Horses To Follow. Harry Derham's gelding made a winning start to life over hurdles at Lingfield in November, beating a very classy rival in Mondo Man, and I thought Mossy Fen Road looked set for a tilt at the Supreme Novices' Hurdle after a rampant victory at Chepstow the following month.

Derham then made the decision to send his precious novice up to Musselburgh for the Scottish Supreme before taking up his Cheltenham entry. Sadly, Paul O'Brien's mount produced a flat performance, finished second to Onlyforfrankie and wasn't seen again for the rest of the season.

Mossy Fen Road was clearly under the weather that day, so I'm happy to put a line through the display. Novice chasing is an obvious option, given his point-to-point experience, but Derham may feel that Mossy Fen Road has unfinished business over hurdles, and a tilt at the Greatwood or the Gerry Feilden at Newbury could be on the cards off his mark of 136.

Peacenik (Katy Price)

Katy Price may only be in charge of a small operation in Herefordshire, but she looks to have unearthed a very talented horse in PEACENIK. This imposing seven-year-old has shown flashes of top-level form throughout his career and still seems to be improving.

Second in a bumper to Teeshan, Peacenik beat Crest Of Fortune in a novice hurdle before finishing a close second to Dedicated Hero in the Rossington Main at Haydock. Stepping up in trip brought about further improvement last season, as Gavin Sheehan's mount beat George's Lad over two and a half miles at Doncaster before making all to win by eight lengths on his three-mile debut at Newbury.

Peacenik was upped to a mark of 138 following that victory but proved he could still contend off such a rating when narrowly beaten on his final outing of the season at Newbury. Price gave her stable star an extra season over hurdles to improve his jumping technique, but I'd be very surprised – given his stature and stride length – if we don't see Peacenik jump fences this term. He's capable of further progress over the larger obstacles.

Ronnie Russet (Jedd O'Keeffe)

Like Midday Rendezvous, RONNIE RUSSET won back-to-back bumpers last season. Fifth on debut at Hexham, Jedd O'Keeffe's gelding made all at Newcastle in December before returning to the same venue in January to secure an emphatic 11-length triumph under a penalty.

Following an 86-day absence, O'Keeffe threw Ronnie Russet into the Grade Two bumper at Aintree's Grand National Festival. Sean Quinlan's mount set off in a prominent position but lost ground continuously down the outside of the pack and eventually trailed over the line in ninth place.

A scopey son of top National Hunt sire Passing Glance, Ronnie Russet is bred to be a jumper and showed more than enough class in bumpers to suggest that he can challenge in some of the top novice hurdle races this term. Two and a half miles could be his optimum trip.

Ti'mamzel (Gary and Josh Moore)

Very few horses win Listed-quality bumpers on their racecourse debut, but that's what TI'MAMZEL did when scoring in the Henrietta Knight at Huntingdon in December.

After a narrow defeat against the geldings at the Winter Millions Meeting, Ti'mamzel claimed her second Listed victory of the season with a dominant performance at Sandown on Imperial Cup day. Gary and Josh Moore then decided to roll the dice and throw their precocious young mare into the Nickel Coin at Aintree, where Caolin Quinn's mount travelled well but simply couldn't find a change of gear on the fastest ground she had faced in her career.

I have no doubt that Ti'mamzel will be able to transfer that sparkling bumper form to hurdles. She's bred to be a very good hurdler. A liking for juicy ground may force connections to swerve the big spring festivals, but I expect Ti'mamzel will be a force at meetings staged at Sandown and Lingfield over the coming weeks and months.

The Dog Thief (Tom Ellis)

Tom Ellis has steadily been expanding his operation under rules, and THE DOG THIEF looks to be a horse that could take him to some big festivals during the 2026/27 season.

The Dog Thief has only been beaten once in three career starts, and that defeat came at Carlisle, where he was beaten 20 lengths by Willie Mullins' excellent novice He's On Fire. Ellis' gelding built on that encouraging hurdles debut with a hard-fought win in a maiden at Market Rasen before proving himself to be extremely well handicapped with a straightforward success at Perth.

Gina Andrews' mount wandered around when he hit the front that day but had more than enough left in the tank to leave some quality rivals trailing in his wake. Whether he stays over hurdles or goes novice chasing, I expect The Dog Thief will continue to climb the handicap ladder during the upcoming campaign.

The Blue Room (Olly Murphy)

Olly Murphy has always thought the world of THE BLUE ROOM, and I can't wait to see how he progresses in the novice chasing division this season.

Sean Bowen's mount won comfortably on his hurdles debut at Chepstow and did well to finish second to No Drama This End in the Winter Novices' Hurdle at Sandown, having made a terrible mistake at the crucial second-last flight. The Blue Room was then fancied to land the Classic Novices' Hurdle at Cheltenham, but Murphy's novice made a mistake at the opening hurdle and could never get back into the contest, pulling up well before the end.

Murphy opted not to run The Blue Room during the spring, instead prioritising his novice chasing campaign. The Jack Richards on day three of the Cheltenham Festival could be at the back of Olly's mind, but one thing is for sure: The Blue Room could have a stone or more in-hand off his mark of 129.