Jumps racing never completely disappears, but there is always a point in early autumn when it suddenly feels close again. That makes September the perfect time to choose my National Hunt horses to follow in 2026/27. Trainers begin discussing plans, ante-post markets appear everywhere and the rest of us start making confident predictions that may look ridiculous by Christmas.
This is not simply a list of the ten best horses in training. If it were, we could copy the end-of-season ratings, put the kettle on and save ourselves quite a lot of trouble. Instead, I wanted a mixture of established champions, younger horses moving into open company and promising novice chasers and hurdlers whose next step could be more interesting than anything they have achieved so far.
Some have already won at the Cheltenham Festival. Others are still trying to prove that they belong at that level. One is returning after more than two years away, which could either produce a wonderful comeback story or make this selection look rather optimistic.
These are not ten horses to back blindly every time they run. Short prices, unsuitable ground and questionable race placement can make even the most talented horse a poor bet. They are simply the ten I am most looking forward to watching as the National Hunt season unfolds.
| Horse | Trainer | 2026/27 role | The main question |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gaelic Warrior | Willie Mullins | Staying chaser | Can he defend his Gold Cup crown? |
| Jango Baie | Nicky Henderson | Staying chaser | Can he close the gap on Gaelic Warrior? |
| Lossiemouth | Willie Mullins | Two-mile hurdler | Is she now the undisputed queen of the division? |
| Il Etait Temps | Willie Mullins | Two-mile chaser | Can he dominate after his Cheltenham and Punchestown wins? |
| Brighterdaysahead | Gordon Elliott | Hurdler | Can she turn the tables on Lossiemouth? |
| The New Lion | Dan Skelton | Hurdler | Will a longer distance bring further improvement? |
| Old Park Star | Nicky Henderson | Novice chaser | Can the Supreme winner transfer his ability to fences? |
| He’s On Fire | Willie Mullins | Novice chaser | How good is he when tested at Grade 1 level? |
| The Mourne Rambler | Noel Meade | Novice hurdler | Can the Champion Bumper winner develop over obstacles? |
| Irish Point | Gordon Elliott | Novice chaser | How much ability remains after his long absence? |
My 10 horses to follow for the 2026/27 jumps season
1. Gaelic Warrior: can he defend the Cheltenham Gold Cup?
We may as well begin with the horse everybody else has to catch.
Gaelic Warrior finally turned all that obvious ability into victory in the 2026 Cheltenham Gold Cup. He travelled strongly, stayed the trip and beat Jango Baie by eight lengths, with defending champion Inothewayurthinkin back in third. Any lingering doubts about whether he was a genuine staying chaser disappeared somewhere between the final fence and the winning post.
He reinforced that impression at Punchestown, beating Fact To File by 26 lengths in the Punchestown Gold Cup. Admittedly, end-of-season margins occasionally need treating with care. Some horses arrive at Punchestown still full of life; others look as though they would rather be eating grass in a quiet field. Even so, it was another serious performance.
The fascinating part is that Gaelic Warrior has never looked completely straightforward. He has raced over several distances, occasionally jumped to his right and spent years giving the impression that Willie Mullins was trying to solve a particularly expensive puzzle.
That puzzle now appears to be complete. He begins the campaign as the reigning Cheltenham Gold Cup winner and the standard for the staying chase division. Defending the title in 2027 will be harder than winning it, but if he returns in the same form, finding a horse capable of beating him will not be easy.
2. Jango Baie: a leading 2027 Cheltenham Gold Cup contender
Finishing eight lengths behind Gaelic Warrior hardly sounds like the strongest argument for a future Cheltenham Gold Cup winner. In Jango Baie’s case, however, the bare margin does not tell the whole story.
He was the youngest horse in the 2026 Cheltenham Gold Cup field and arrived with questions still hanging over his stamina. Those doubts were understandable. He had won the Arkle over two miles only a year earlier and finished a close fourth on his first attempt at three miles in the King George VI Chase. Cheltenham provided a much clearer answer: he stayed.
Jango Baie could not match Gaelic Warrior when the winner moved away, but he kept going up the hill to finish second. Nicky Henderson immediately indicated that his new campaign would be planned around another Cheltenham Gold Cup attempt.
His season ended with a 16-length victory in the Grade 1 Aintree Bowl. That margin flatters him slightly because Impaire Et Passe fell two fences from home while still involved, but Jango Baie could only beat the horses left standing, and he did that comfortably.
He may never possess Gaelic Warrior’s raw power, but he is younger, adaptable and still improving. The gap between them is considerable, but it does not necessarily have to remain that way.
3. Lossiemouth: the Champion Hurdle queen to beat
I spent long enough wondering whether Lossiemouth would ever take her chance in the Champion Hurdle. Now that she has won the 2026 Champion Hurdle by six and a half lengths, it is probably time to stop asking.
Her Cheltenham Festival record is flawless. Four appearances have produced four victories: the Triumph Hurdle, two Mares’ Hurdles and now the Champion Hurdle. Her overall record at the racecourse is even better, as she is five from five at Cheltenham when her victory in the Unibet Hurdle in January 2024 is included. In the latest of those wins, she travelled behind Brighterdaysahead, moved past her approaching the last and quickly settled the argument.
That Cheltenham victory also reversed the result of the 2026 Irish Champion Hurdle. Brighterdaysahead had beaten her by three and a quarter lengths at Leopardstown on much more testing ground, so their rivalry is not quite as one-sided as their latest meeting made it appear.
Lossiemouth completed her campaign by winning the Punchestown Champion Hurdle by five lengths from Golden Ace. It was another controlled performance rather than a desperate scrap, and she ended the season as the clear leader of the two-mile hurdle division.
The main danger may be that we start treating her victories as formalities. Horses have an annoying habit of noticing when punters do that. Even so, her record, consistency and liking for Cheltenham make her impossible to leave off this list.
4. Il Etait Temps: can the Champion Chase winner dominate again?
Il Etait Temps began last season as a high-class chaser with something still to prove. He finished it having won the two races that matter most in the two-mile chase division.
First came the Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham. Majborough attracted much of the attention beforehand, but he raced too freely and never found a proper jumping rhythm. Il Etait Temps was far more effective. Despite giving his supporters a brief fright at the final fence, he came home ten lengths clear of Libberty Hunter.
He then travelled to Punchestown and beat Marine Nationale by five lengths in the William Hill Champion Chase. Winning both races removed any suggestion that his Cheltenham victory had simply fallen into his lap.
He is not quite the effortless jumping machine that his best performances might suggest. There can still be the occasional jumping mistake, which is worth remembering if he starts turning up at very short prices. The difference now is that those errors no longer seem to knock him out of his rhythm completely.
The chasing landscape can change quickly, particularly over two miles, but Il Etait Temps begins 2026/27 as the leading two-mile chaser in training. Majborough, Kargese and Marine Nationale may all have another go at him. For the moment, though, they are the ones with catching up to do.
5. Brighterdaysahead: why two and a half miles could be the answer
Brighterdaysahead presents the sort of puzzle that makes a horse worth following. We know she is very good. The difficulty is identifying her best distance.
She defeated Lossiemouth by three and a quarter lengths in the 2026 Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown, where the testing ground and stronger emphasis on stamina played to her strengths. Lossiemouth reversed that form emphatically at Cheltenham, but Brighterdaysahead still finished second in the Champion Hurdle and lost little in defeat.
The step up to two and a half miles at Aintree appeared to suit her much better. She stayed on to beat The New Lion by two and a quarter lengths in the Aintree Hurdle, collecting the fifth Grade 1 success of her career.
A move to fences was mentioned after Aintree, but Gordon Elliott has since indicated that he would prefer to keep her over hurdles. He also believes that she is better beyond the minimum distance, which leaves connections with a familiar problem: the biggest hurdling prize is run over two miles, while her strongest form may come over further.
That uncertainty is precisely why she belongs here. Another meeting with Lossiemouth remains an obvious attraction, although Elliott has suggested that Brighterdaysahead could even bypass the Cheltenham Festival. Her campaign may instead be built around races over two and a half miles, with the Aintree Hurdle identified as her likely ultimate aim.
6. The New Lion: Champion Hurdle or Stayers’ Hurdle?
The New Lion entered last season as one of Britain’s brightest hurdling prospects and did not quite become champion. That should not disguise how much he achieved in only his second campaign over hurdles.
His season included a fall in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle and victory in the International Hurdle before he finished third in the 2026 Champion Hurdle, behind Lossiemouth and Brighterdaysahead. He then met Brighterdaysahead again over two and a half miles in the Aintree Hurdle. A mistake at the final flight did not help, although she was a deserving winner by two and a quarter lengths.
The obvious question is which route comes next.
Another attempt at the Champion Hurdle is possible, but Lossiemouth looks a formidable opponent and The New Lion has already shown that two and a half miles suits him. A future over three miles has therefore entered the conversation. The Stayers’ Hurdle division looks open enough to make that option tempting, even if staying the extra distance around Cheltenham cannot simply be assumed.
Personally, I would like to see him tested over three miles before any firm conclusions are reached. It might unlock further improvement or confirm that everyone got carried away during the summer. Either result would tell us something useful.
7. Old Park Star: can the Supreme winner become a top novice chaser?
Old Park Star is the horse on this list most likely to make me abandon all sensible restraint after one impressive novice chase.
He was unbeaten in four starts over hurdles last season after moving from Paul Nicholls to Nicky Henderson. His campaign gathered momentum with every appearance, including an 18-length victory in the Grade 2 Rossington Main Novices’ Hurdle at Haydock, before he justified favouritism in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle.
The winning margin in the 2026 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle was only a length and a half, but Old Park Star found enough to hold Sober Glory, with Mydaddypaddy just behind in third. It was not the spectacular procession seen at Haydock. In some ways, proving that he could deal with a proper Cheltenham Festival battle was more valuable.
Nicky Henderson said after the Supreme that he would be surprised if Old Park Star did not go chasing, and he was still leaning in that direction in August. His speed makes the Arkle Novices’ Chase an obvious race to discuss, although no Cheltenham Festival target needs deciding before he has jumped a fence in public.
He looked fluent and professional over hurdles, but fences ask a different question. If he takes to them naturally, he could become a leading British novice chaser. If he clatters through his first fence in public, we will all quietly pretend we never mentioned the Arkle.
8. He’s On Fire: Willie Mullins’ next novice chasing star?
He’s On Fire only made two appearances for Willie Mullins last season, but subtlety was not really part of the plan.
He won a maiden hurdle at Carlisle by 20 lengths on his first start for the yard. That performance earned him entries at the Cheltenham Festival, although connections resisted the temptation and waited for a Grade 2 novice hurdle over two and a half miles at Fairyhouse.
The patience paid off. He travelled through the race comfortably before quickening away between the final two flights to beat Generous Risk by 12 lengths. Even Willie Mullins appeared surprised by how easily he left the field behind, which is not a bad reaction to provoke from a trainer who sees highly talented horses before breakfast.
He’s On Fire is expected to go novice chasing, a route Willie Mullins publicly identified after his Fairyhouse victory. The trainer described him as a real chaser in the making and believes he should have no trouble staying three miles over fences. Plans can always change at Closutton, of course, but for now chasing is very much the intention.
What we can say is that he looked far better than Grade 2 level at Fairyhouse. Now he must prove it in Grade 1 company against horses capable of going with him.
9. The Mourne Rambler: can the Champion Bumper winner shine over hurdles?
Champion Bumper winners always attract attention when they begin jumping. Sometimes that attention is fully justified. Sometimes we spend the winter backing them at short prices while wondering why they keep hitting hurdles.
The Mourne Rambler earned his place on this list by winning a bumper at Leopardstown over Christmas and then producing a strong finish in the 2026 Champion Bumper at Cheltenham. Ridden by Irish Flat champion Colin Keane, he came home two and three-quarter lengths ahead of Mets Ta Ceinture to give Noel Meade his first Cheltenham Festival winner in five years.
He was beaten by With Nolimit at Punchestown, where the Cheltenham form was reversed by a length and three-quarters. I would not be too concerned by that defeat. The Mourne Rambler still ran well, and two demanding spring festivals can produce different answers from young horses.
Noel Meade has mentioned the possibility of a Flat run before his jumping campaign. Whatever route connections choose, his stamina should provide several options once he goes hurdling.
We still know very little about how he will cope with hurdles, which is precisely the appeal. By Christmas, he could be a leading novice hurdler or a horse desperately in need of another schooling session. I am looking forward to finding out.
10. Irish Point: can the Grade 1 hurdler return over fences?
Irish Point is easily the riskiest selection on this list, but he is also the one whose return I most want to see.
We have not seen him race since the French Champion Hurdle in May 2024. Before his injury, he had established himself as a genuine Grade 1 hurdler. He won the Mersey Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree, later landed the Christmas Hurdle by 11 lengths and finished just over a length behind State Man in the 2024 Champion Hurdle.
After more than two years away, Gordon Elliott reported at the beginning of September that Irish Point was back hacking and moving well. The current plan is to send him over fences as a novice chaser, although his preparation will determine when and where he returns.
There are obvious reasons for caution. An eight-year-old returning from such a long absence cannot be judged as though nothing happened, and he still has to show that he can reproduce his old ability over fences.
That is why I would not rush to back him for the Cheltenham Festival. First, I simply want to see him return safely and enjoy his racing. If he does that and takes naturally to fences, the novice chase division will suddenly have a very interesting late arrival.
Final thoughts on my National Hunt horses to follow in 2026/27
Putting together a list like this in September is the easy part. The difficult bit comes when the racing starts and the horses refuse to follow the neat plans we have created for them.
Gaelic Warrior, Lossiemouth and Il Etait Temps begin the campaign as champions of their respective divisions. They have already proved that they can deliver on the biggest days. Jango Baie, Brighterdaysahead and The New Lion are searching for the improvement needed to beat them, while the younger names have entirely different questions to answer.
Old Park Star must show that his ability transfers to fences if connections confirm that route, while He’s On Fire is already expected to go novice chasing. The Mourne Rambler has not jumped a hurdle in public, while Irish Point first needs to prove that he can return from a very long absence.
I will update this guide as the 2026/27 National Hunt season develops. Some selections will hopefully make me look perceptive. At least one will probably make everybody wonder what I was drinking when I included it.
That is part of the fun. Let me know your own horse to follow in the comments, particularly if it is a less obvious name. I am always happy to add another horse to an already overcrowded tracker.
Frequently asked questions about National Hunt horses to follow in 2026/27
My ten selections are Gaelic Warrior, Jango Baie, Lossiemouth, Il Etait Temps, Brighterdaysahead, The New Lion, Old Park Star, He’s On Fire, The Mourne Rambler and Irish Point. The list combines established Grade 1 performers with novice prospects and one returning star.
Gaelic Warrior sets the standard after winning the 2026 Gold Cup by eight lengths and following up at Punchestown. Jango Baie, who finished second at Cheltenham before winning the Aintree Bowl, looks one of the most credible challengers if he continues progressing.
Old Park Star is expected to go chasing after completing an unbeaten novice hurdle campaign with victory in the Supreme. He’s On Fire is also expected to go novice chasing after Willie Mullins identified fences as his intended route following his Fairyhouse victory.. Irish Point could join the novice division if his comeback progresses smoothly.
She already has. Brighterdaysahead defeated Lossiemouth in the 2026 Irish Champion Hurdle on testing ground. Lossiemouth reversed the form decisively at Cheltenham, while Brighterdaysahead later won over two and a half miles at Aintree. Their prospects may depend heavily on distance and conditions.
The Mourne Rambler is an obvious candidate after winning the Champion Bumper at Cheltenham and finishing second at Punchestown. His stamina and strong finishing style are encouraging, but his jumping must be assessed before we know which novice hurdle division will suit him best.
No. A horse can be worth following without representing value every time it runs. Fitness, ground, distance, opposition and price still matter. The purpose of the list is to identify interesting horses early, not to replace proper analysis when they eventually appear in a race.
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