As we head into 2026, much of the racing talk revolves around a certain four-day meeting in March. Barely a major race passes by without reference to its Cheltenham Festival implications. Given that focus, it is fitting that the first significant fixture of the New Year takes place at the home of the jumping game.
Racegoers battling through their hangovers to make it to Gloucester’s finest track – or at least as far as the sofa – will be greeted by a typically competitive seven-race card. The Grade 2 Relkeel Hurdle tops the New Year bill from a class perspective. However, with the feature event dominated by a short-priced favourite, the most compelling betting heat is the Betfair Exchange Handicap Chase.
The trip is 2m4½f for this Premier Handicap contest, with £100,000 in prize money up for grabs. With the final field confirmed, the nine-runner line-up includes a pair of hattrick-seeking stars, a confirmed course-specialist, and an 11-year-old last sighted in the Grade 1 Ryanair Chase. However, it is a horse who caused an almighty shock at the December Meeting who tops the market.
Glengouly to Strike Again?
Formerly based at the yard of Willie Mullins, Glengouly reached a chase rating of 146 and lined up in the 2024 Aintree Grand National. However, a string of subpar efforts suggested that he had fallen out of love with the game, prompting a change of owners and trainer in 2025.
Initially, the switch to the Lambourn yard of Faye Bromley did little to reignite Glengouly’s fire. His first three starts for his new trainer produced two pulled-up outings and a 76-length defeat. Given a 103-day break and a wind operation, he returned with a last of 10 effort at Uttoxeter. So far, so discouraging, but a much improved third at Aintree, followed by a fourth at the November Meeting, hinted at hope for the season ahead.
That hope was realised in the December Gold Cup. Racing off a mark 18lb below his peak and stepping back up to 2m4½f, Glengouly set out to make the running under Sean Bowen. Still in front in the straight, the 33/1 chance toughed it out to register his first win since 2022.
He’s up 3lb here, but that still leaves him well treated on his old form. With the brilliant Bowen once again in the saddle, he is the general 7/2 favourite leading up to the race.
Hat-trick Seekers Head the Opposition
Runners formerly based at other yards are something of a theme in this race. Included in the cast of racing wanderers is the Paul Nicholls-trained Twinjets. A five-time winner for Milton Harris, the son of Jet Away relocated to Ditcheat in 2023. Having made a winning start for Nicholls at Doncaster, his form took a turn for the worse, prompting an extensive break of 330 days.
That absence from the track appears to have done the horse the world of good. Making a successful return at Fontwell in October, he backed that up with a career-best 10-length romp at Newbury. A 7lb rise takes him to a career high mark, but he remains lightly raced in this sphere. Dual Cheltenham winner Il Ridoto provides a strong second string to the Nicholls bow on his 18th appearance at the track.
🏆 The “Join @Coral Bet £10 Get £50″ Handicap Chase 🏆
🥇 Twinjets
🥈 Heltenham
🥉 American MikeA perfect run from Twinjets to secure the win easily under Harry Cobden for Paul Nicholls⚡️ pic.twitter.com/5LVvxkeysV
— Newbury Racecourse (@NewburyRacing) November 28, 2025
The second runner arriving on a winning streak is the Sam Thomas-trained Just Over Land. Sporting the famous Dai Waters silks, this seven-year-old won only once in 10 hurdles outings but has already doubled that tally over fences. This represents a step up from his recent wins at Fontwell and Chepstow, but there may be more to come from the youngest runner in the field.
Boogie the Class Act on First Start for Williams
The most intriguing runner in the lineup is the 12-year-old Jungle Boogie. Despite his advancing years, this Gold Well gelding will be making only his seventh start over fences and his first in a handicap.
Unbeaten in three starts for Willie Mullins between November 2020 and January 2022, Jungle Boogie then had almost two years off the track. Having moved to the yard of Henry De Bromhead, he finally reappeared in December 2023. Showing the ability remained with a Grade 3 win at Tramore, he was allowed to take his chance in the 2024 Cheltenham Gold Cup. While no match for Galopin Des Champs, a sixth-place finish in the most prestigious chase of the season is comfortably the standout piece of form in this field.
Undoubtedly talented, punters may find it hard to trust this notoriously fragile performer. Having begun 2024/25 with an eight-length win at Ascot, he pulled up before the second last in the Ryanair Chase in March. Not seen since that Cheltenham Festival outing, he has since moved from Knockeen to Hertfordshire to take up residence at the yard of Venetia Williams.
Others to note in this tricky contest include John McConnell’s course and distance winner Moon d’Orange, and Riskintheground, who represents the always dangerous Dan Skelton team.
