Jack Richards Novices' Handicap Chase 2025 - Free guide to the newest addition to the Cheltenham Festival

Here's our free guide to the 2025 Jack Richards Novices' Handicap Chase, featuring the latest odds, expert analysis and our best betting tips. 

Heading the betting is Jagwar, who won an identical race to this on Trials Day at Cheltenham. Oliver Greenall & Josh Guerriero's novice has won three of his four starts over fences this season, meaning he's eligible to run in the Plate, but Greenall said this weekend that the team were leaning towards the novices' handicap instead.

Galway Hurdle winner, Nurburgring hasn't set the world alight over fences, but Joseph O'Brien's star is fancied by many for this contest. Willie Mullins could run Supreme Novices' Hurdle fourth Asian Master, should jockey Tony Costello - who is 6ft 4in tall - be able to make 11-02.

Gordon Elliott could drop Firefox into handicap company for the first time, having placed in several Grade Ones over hurdles and fences. Terence O'Brien has pointed recent Naas winner, Answer To Kayf at the novices' handicap. Along with Asian Master, Willie Mullins could be represented by Tullyhill, Blizzard Of Oz and O'Moore Park.

Paul Nicholls will be represented here by Caldwell Potter, who finished third behind Jango Baie over this course-and-distance earlier in the season. Springwell Bay and/or Croke Park will carry top-weight off their marks of 154. Other notable runners include Lord Of Thunder, Masaccio and Moon D'Orange.

I'm yet to finalise my bets for this new contest. Jagwar holds plenty of appeal, but I'd like to see him make the most of his novice status and run in the Plate Handicap Chase, where I fancy he could be very hard to beat.

I'm keen to follow JORDANS (16/1) wherever he turns up at Cheltenham. Joseph O'Brien's six-year-old won four times in France, and jumped fences as a four-year-old last season before making the switch to Ireland.

Having been touched off by race-fit stablemate San Salvador on his Irish debut at Listowel, Jordans came through late to beat Monbeg Park in the Grade Three Novices' Chase at Punchestown in October. O'Brien's gelding then unseated Danny Mullins early in Grade Two company, but bounced back with an excellent effort in the Grade One Faugheen Novices' Chase at Limerick, where he was beaten into second by former Cheltenham Festival winner Impaire Et Passe.

Richie Deegan held his unfancied mount up out the back in that Grade One. Jordans made stealthy progress into contention and hit the line hard back in second, just four lengths adrift of Impaire Et Passe.

The winner that day is a horse of 160-level ability, so Jordan's mark of 148 looks fairly lenient. O'Brien's six-year-old put in his best round of jumping so far at Limerick and seems to go on any kind of ground. He's a horse that I really like.