Paul Nicholls 2025/26 National Hunt Season Preview: Five hurdlers to follow

• Paul Nicholls' five hurdlers to follow for the 2025/26 season

• Jubilee Alpha going nicely and will do well again

• Path of former Ditcheat stars one to follow for No Drama This End

• Delighted with French recruits Pourquoi Pas Papa and Babyken

• Year off will not be lost on Joyau Allen and Ditcheat team really like him

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Jubilee Alpha

6-y-o bay mare

NH Form:  1231181-

• Sire: Flemensfirth (USA)
• Dam: Queen Alphabet (IRE)
• Dam's Sire: King's Theatre (IRE)

She is very much a hurdler to be honest. She had a great season last time and is going nicely. There's lots of options you can go with her, you can take a 7lb fillies allowance and something like the Ascot Hurdle over two- and-a-half miles against the geldings, but that's a bit of a step up in class so I'd like to get one step in before that.

She could go to Wetherby for the mares' hurdle on Charlie Hall day. That's over two miles though and I think her best form was over two-and-a-half at the end of the season. Or the weekend after, the Richard Barber Memorial Handicap, that's two miles five. That would be a good starting point for her.

I'm sure during the season we will place her right, there's some nice mares' races, she'll do very well again. I think two-and-a-half miles is her trip, but we'll see (about the Mares' Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival), it's early days, we're dreaming about Cheltenham again and we'll see what's what.

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No Drama This End

5-y-o grey gelding

NH Form:  19-

• Sire: Walk In The Park (IRE)
• Dam: La Segnora (FR)
• Dam's Sire: Turgeon (USA)

I could have put any number of novices in this list - you dream at this time of the season about how good they could be - but if there's one horse you might think could be good for a Challow it could be him.

He won his only point-to-point, won his bumper very well at Warwick which was quite a good race, and ran okay at Cheltenham (in the Champion Bumper). We weren't too hard on him as he's a three mile chaser in the making.

He's ready to go novice hurdling now and we'll start him off in a two-and-a-half miles maiden hurdle somewhere. I'd like to think he can follow the same path as Stage Star, Bravemansgame, that type of route, and see where we end up with him. He's a horse that we like but he's got to take a step forward.

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Pourquoi Pas Papa

(Note: silks likely to change now in new ownership)

3-y-o bay gelding

NH Form:  2-

• Sire: Manatee (UK)
• Dam: Pourquoi Pas Elle (FR)
• Dam's Sire: Martaline (UK)

He's a really nice three-year-old that Anthony Bromley bought for us in the summer. He was second to a horse that I see Tom Malone was calling a rocket (Parchment) so that sounds quite good (David Pipe has got that one). And the third and the fourth from that race in France have won, so that's good form, and to me he was very green, ran well, stayed on strong. We really like him.

He can run in NH novice hurdles or juvenile hurdles, I haven't really got a plan for him but I might start him off in one of those introductory hurdles at Sandown for three-year-olds who've only run once, something like that. But he's a lovely horse, so we're really delighted with him. But again, he's got to take a step forward.

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Babyken

(Note: silks likely to change now in new ownership)

3-y-o chestnut gelding

NH Form:  N/A

• Sire: Goken (FR)
• Dam: Maybe (GER)
• Dam's Sire: Dashing Blade (FR)

We bought him for Andrew Brooks. He's had two runs on the flat, first and second. I think he's won over two miles and ran well over a mile-and-a-half.

He jumps nicely, has done lots of work at home and will probably start at Wincanton at the end of October in a juvenile hurdle, and then progress from there. At home, he shows us plenty, and we do like him.

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Joyau Allen

6-y-o chestnut gelding

NH Form:  12-

• Sire: Muhtathir (UK)
• Dam: Reaction (FR)
• Dam's Sire: Saint Des Saints (FR)

A big, strong, chasing type of horse, he is definitely one that whatever he achieves over hurdles will be a bonus but he's a half brother - or it may even be a full brother - to Envoi Allen, so he's well related.

He won his bumper for us Exeter, ran some nice races. He's a horse that I've always liked, the year off was due to a minor injury but we decided to give him the break and it won't be lost on him.

He's a huge horse, he's 17 hands plus. He goes very nice but he's a dark horse really, he's got ability, we really like him and I'm sure he'll win some nice novice hurdles. He's one I really like.

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Now read Paul's five chasers to follow this season

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