The Brown Advisory Novices Chase has a habit of telling us where the next generation of staying chasers is coming from, and the 2026 renewal looks no exception.
With 16 declared for Wednesday’s 2.00 at Cheltenham over 3m1f on the Old Course, this is very much a proper test rather than a gentle introduction to Festival life.
Much of the pre-race chat circles around the rivalry between Gordon Elliott’s Romeo Coolio and Willie Mullins’ Final Demand, two very different types who could easily be lining up in Championship company here in twelve months’ time.
Around them sits a typically strong supporting cast from Closutton, Ireland’s other big yards, and a few ambitious British stables who wouldn’t mind upsetting the narrative.
It has the feel of a year where the winner will be one we hear a lot more about.
The Main Players
Three miles and a bit around Cheltenham with 20 fences to jump is a stern enough exam for seasoned pros, never mind novices, and the 16-runner field means there should be no hiding places.
A few like to go forward, which hints at an honest, possibly searching gallop rather than the stop–start stuff that can turn this into a sprint.
Romeo Coolio connections have gone back and forth all week to decide which race they should target before settling on the 2026 Brown Advisory Novices Chase. He arrives on the back of four consecutive seasonal wins, and a soaring rating that marks him out as one of this season’s better novice chasers.
Jack Kennedy knows him well, and the hood plus a tidy jumping technique should help him hold a position and conserve energy for the hill.
Final Demand, meanwhile, has already spent much of the season with a target on his back, stringing together smart efforts in Ireland before tasting defeat in a deeper grade last time in the Ladbrokes Novice Chase.
That reverse has at least taken a little air out of the hype without damaging the substance of his form.
Behind the headline pair, Kaid d’Authie (who beat Final Demand) and Kitzbuhel add further Mullins firepower, while Oscars Brother and Western Fold bring solid Irish form lines that might not be fully appreciated in the market yet.
British hopes rest with the likes of Wendigo from Jamie Snowden, Salver from Gary & Josh Moore and Thomas Mor from Philip Hobbs & Johnson White.
*Odds from Betfred correct at time of publishing
| Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Romeo Coolio | Jack Kennedy | G Elliott | 5/2 |
| Final Demand | Paul Townend | W P Mullins | 5/1 |
| Kaid D’authie | Mark Walsh | W P Mullins | 6/1 |
| Koktail Divin | Darragh O’Keeffe | H De Bromhead | 7/1 |
| Wendigo | G Sheehan | Jamie Snowden | 17/2 |
| Western Fold | Danny Gilligan | G Elliott | 12/1 |
| The Big Westerner | Mike O’Connor | H De Bromhead | 12/1 |
| Oscars Brother | Daniel King | Connor King | 14/1 |
| Kitzbuhel | H Cobden | W P Mullins | 18/1 |
| Argento Boy | Danny Mullins | W P Mullins | 40/1 |
| Salver | Caoilin Quinn | G & J Moore | 40/1 |
| Predators Gold | Mr P W Mullins | W P Mullins | 50/1 |
| Thomas Mor | Ben Jones | P Hobbs & J White | 50/1 |
| Now Is The Hour | Keith Donoghue | G P Cromwell | 80/1 |
| Joystick | Brian Hayes | W P Mullins | 100/1 |
| Rushmount | Sean O’Keeffe | Jonathan Sweeney | 100/1 |
Romeo Coolio v Final Demand
On paper, this sets up nicely as a straight match-up between a hardened favourite who has already carried lofty expectations and a rival who has crept up the ranks with less noise but just as much substance.
Romeo Coolio has been all efficiency this term: handy, uncomplicated, and with a neat habit of finding more when asked without emptying the tank.
The step up to 3m1f at a track like Cheltenham will ask a little more from him, but should suit his way of racing, provided he settles in the first half of the race and doesn’t light up down the hill.
Final Demand is more of a known quantity at around this sort of trip, and Willie Mullins has not been shy about aiming him at proper races rather than soft touches.
His defeat at the Dublin Racing Festival might actually turn out to be a positive: it exposed a couple of rough edges, particularly under pressure late on, and you can safely assume that the homework since has involved plenty of sharpening.
If he jumps with the fluency he showed earlier in the season and gets into a rhythm for Paul Townend, he has the engine to put this lot under strain a long way from home.
Tactically, it will be interesting to see which camp blinks first. Romeo Coolio’s people may be happy to let others make the running and use his turn of foot from two out, whereas connections of Final Demand could be tempted to ride more aggressively to turn this into a stamina test.
If the ground is on the softer side, that probably plays into Final Demand’s hands; if it rides better than expected, Romeo Coolio’s change of gear may prove the difference.
2026 Brown Advisory Novices Chase Tips and Predictions
Romeo Coolio looks a very solid starting point. He arrives in form, has the right age and rating profile, and his smooth jumping gives him every chance of holding a position in a race that could get messy for those further back.
He might not be absolutely bombproof at the new trip, but Elliott does not tend to run them here for the sake of it, and his Leopardstown form suggests there is more to come over further.
Final Demand commands respect as a horse who has already done it in deeper company and whose trainer has a long history of turning Festival novices into future stars.
For those of you looking away from the obvious, a couple of each-way types stand out.
Kaid d’Authie has the sort of grinding, no-frills style that can be deadly round here if he avoids traffic, while Oscars Brother brings solid staying form and looks capable of grabbing a slice if he can handle the tempo and the occasion.
Among the British-trained runners, Wendigo makes some quiet appeal as a horse who stays well and jumps soundly, which might not win style marks but can do the job for place money.
Who Will Win?
This year’s Brown Advisory feels like a race where the marketing department would happily frame it as “Romeo Coolio v Final Demand”, but the form book hints at something more nuanced.
The big two deserve their place at the head of the market, yet there is enough depth underneath them to keep everyone honest and make life interesting for in-running traders.
However it pans out, we should learn a lot about the staying novice chase division for next season. If Romeo Coolio stays and wins, the Gold Cup talk will start before the horse has even had a wash.
If Final Demand bounces back in style, the Mullins juggernaut will have another staying star.
And if one of the supposed supporting cast steps up to steal the show, well, that’s Cheltenham for you – just when you think you know the script, the Brown Advisory hands you a new leading actor.
BETFRED
