The 2026 Jack Richards Novices Chase shapes as a strong 2m4½f test for progressive novices, featuring a mix of Irish raiders, unexposed handicappers, and a couple of would‑be stars on the rise.
With a maximum field of 20 and £125,000 in prize money, it is the kind of race where plenty of solid cases can be made, and small margins are likely to decide the result.
Run at 2:00pm on Thursday, 12 March, day three of the Cheltenham Festival, the Jack Richards is now a Grade 2 limited handicap over 2m4f127y on the New Course, registered as the Golden Miller.
The race replaced the old level‑weights Turners/Golden Miller configuration, but it still attracts a similar profile of upwardly mobile chasers stepping out of novice company into something more competitive.
The 2026 renewal again draws on both British and Irish yards, with Ben Pauling, Willie Mullins, Henry de Bromhead, Gordon Elliott, Paul Nicholls, and leading home trainers all represented.
It is open to horses aged five and up, though recent trends for the Golden Miller/Jack Richards bracket show six and seven‑year‑olds dominating, which fits plenty of this year’s line‑up.
Race Runners & Odds
*Odds from Betfred correct at time of publication
| Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sixmilebridge | Kielan Woods | Fergal O’Brien | 4/1 |
| Jordans Cross | Sam Twiston-Davies | Anthony Honeyball | 11/2 |
| Regent’s Stroll | Harry Cobden | Paul Nicholls | 6/1 |
| Meetmebythesea | Ben Jones | Ben Pauling | 15/2 |
| Slade Steel | Darragh O’Keeffe | Henry De Bromhead | 17/2 |
| Stencil | Jonathan Burke | Noel George & Amanda Zetterholm | 11/1 |
| Wingmen | Jack Kennedy | Gordon Elliott | 12/1 |
| The Bluesman | Sean Bowen | Olly Murphy | 12/1 |
| Kiss Will | J J Slevin | W P Mullins | 14/1 |
| Kdeux Saint Fray | Rex Dingle | Anthony Honeyball | 18/1 |
| Ol Man Dingle | Ricky Doyle | Eoin Griffin | 25/1 |
| King Alexander | Danny Mullins | W P Mullins | 25/1 |
| Ben Solo | Brian Hughes | Rebecca Curtis | 25/1 |
| Western Knight | Brendan Powell | Joe Tizzard | 28/1 |
| Gold Dancer | Anna McGuinness | W P Mullins | 33/1 |
| Where’s My Jet | Sean O’Keeffe | W P Mullins | 33/1 |
| Dr Eggman | John Shinnick | W P Mullins | 50/1 |
| Moon Rocket | Tom Bellamy | Kim Bailey & Mat Nicholls | 66/1 |
| Intense Approach | Alex Harvey | John C McConnell | 66/1 |
Market Leaders
Regent’s Stroll (Paul Nicholls) has the neat mix of solid handicap form, a recent win, and a trainer who targets this slot with progressive two‑and‑a‑half‑milers.
Meetmebythesea (Ben Pauling) looks another firmly towards the front of the market after winning two of his three novice chase starts. Pauling’s record with progressive novices in handicaps has improved in recent seasons, and this horse fits the age and profile trends nicely.
Jordans Cross (Anthony Honeyball) brings course‑and‑distance winning form, suggesting a rapidly improving chaser who was progressing when last seen.
Slade Steel (Henry de Bromhead), already familiar to festival watchers from his earlier Supreme Novices win in 2024, now turns up as an eight‑year‑old novice chaser.
Course experience and smart back‑class are positives, although he will carry a fair share of weight in this setup.
Sixmilebridge (Fergal O’Brien) has done little wrong since going chasing, winning three from three this season including a Grade 1 at Sandown. A rating of 150 anchors him near the top of the weights but underlines how far he has come in a short space of time.
Behind that front rank sit a host of interesting types: Mullins’ Gold Dancer, King Alexander, Kiss Will, Where’s My Jet, and Dr Eggman give the champion trainer an unusually strong hand for a handicap of this nature.
While the likes of Stencil, Old Cowboy, The Bluesman, and Kdeux Saint Fray all have bits of form that could be upgraded in a strongly run race at this trip.
In short, it’s the kind of heat where “could run well at a price” covers about half the field.
Trends To Help Find The Winner
While this version of the race is still relatively new in its handicap guise, the underlying novice chase trends are instructive.
Over the past dozen renewals of the equivalent race, 11 of 12 winners were aged six or seven, and 11 of 12 came from the first three in the betting, underlining how a touch of class often wins out even in a competitive field.
Narrow down the horses by picking those who have had at least three previous runs over fences, often with two or more wins, preferably with a run in the last 61 days, usually off a last‑time‑out win or close second.
Translating that to this year’s card pushes you towards lightly raced, upwardly mobile chasers around 6–7 years old, sitting somewhere around 142–150 on the rating scale and arriving in good recent form.
It is not a race that has historically smiled often on out‑of‑form types suddenly finding themselves in March.
2026 Tips
On balance of trends and current form, Regent’s Stroll makes plenty of appeal as a principal contender.
Meetmebythesea looks a solid each‑way or “safe” option for place‑minded punters, given his progressive profile and workable mark that could underestimate his ceiling at this intermediate trip.
Of the Irish, Sixmilebridge has the back‑class to be a danger if his jumping stands up in a big field.
For those looking a bit further down the board, Jordans Cross and Stencil both have profiles that suggest they could outrun their prices if getting into an early rhythm.
A strong pace, even distribution of weight, and the natural attrition of a big‑field novice handicap all raise the possibility of something a touch under the radar sneaking into the frame late.
BETFRED
