Horses to Follow in the 2021/2022 National Hunt Season

Published 2021/12/07

Horses to Follow in the 2021/2022 National Hunt Season

We've compiled a list of some outstanding horses to keep an eye on ahead of the 2021/22 National Hunt racing season. These stallions come from all around Britain and Ireland, including diverse stables. There are talented novice hurdlers, up-and-coming chasers, and horses who could compete in prestigious Cheltenham Festival events throughout the season.

Bravemansgame - Paul Nicholls

Whatever he accomplishes this year over hurdles is a bonus, as this horse was made for fences and visited with his trainer Paul Nicholls, who said he reminded him of Denman. Despite that, he won a Group 1 at Cheltenham and placed second at both Aintree. Nichols has never won the Ballymore before, but he has previously finished second at Rock On Ruby and third at Denman, so his loss there does not diminish his reputation.

Shallwehaveonemore - Gary Moore

Nicky Henderson has recently identified Walking On Air as a new hurdler to follow this season, so it's worth keeping an eye on Shallwehaveonemore, who beat him comfortably on both horse's debut and just run dates back to March in the Steven Packham Goshen silks. Running in the Steven Packham Goshen colours, he holds an incredible 50% win rate that was bought for just €7,000.

Boothill - Harry Fry

He won a bumper at Kempton, and every other runner but one came out and won after, while the horses down to the sixth have been given a rating of no worse than 125. He then breezed through his novice hurdle debut at Taunton, where the second (Lilly Pedlar) finished in a Grade 2 next time where the third, fourth and sixth all won. He was by far the quickest out of three up to the finish on that day, which included the 135-rated Atholl Street. He will most likely return to novice chasing this year, where Presenting horses tend to improve significantly. He was 12/1 for the Champion Bumper and 25/1 for the Supreme last year after his win at Kempton, but he didn't make either. Boothill will certainly be a favourable bet to keep an eye on in terms of a novice chase at Cheltenham.

Captain Quint - Rose Dobbin

With six victories from 17 runners (35 percent win rate), Rose Dobbin has had a fantastic season so far. The overall run was 14 seconds faster than the normal times of the day, and they raced away from the third who has placed in a few big field hurdle races in Ireland. Guily Billy was 11/8 for the bumper at Punchestown in April, but he was scratched owing to a stone bruise on the morning of the event. This season, Captain Quint is going unnoticed as much as Guily Billy does Cheltenham Champion Bumper ambitions.

Sporting Ace - Neil King

I'm sure you'll see Grangeclare West in a lot of horse to follow lists this season, after fetching a huge price for Cheveley Park and Willie Mullins at auction. He then proceeded to easily win his bumper debut at Punchestown, but he had a decent race against Sporting Ace who pushed him all the way before. The Knot Is Tied (Ken Lawrence and Roy Mousley) purchased Sporting Ace and entrusted it to Neil King. The team also spent a small fortune on another at the sale in Ballyhawkish, which might be worth considering after selling for £88,000.

Does He Know - Kim Bailey

He made a bold bid to win his point-to-point in 2019, and he looked every bit a chaser throughout his hurdling campaign, yet he still managed to pick up a Grade 2 at Cheltenham in November and was favoured to take home a Grade 1 when competing out at Newbury, where the aforementioned Bravemansgame won. He was beaten on the desperate ground at Exeter, but he lost a shoe at the festival when fifth at Ballymore. He appears to be on track to improve on that performance when chasing.