Cheltenham Gold Cup: Leading British hope Haiti Couleurs wins on seasonal debut at Newbury

Last year’s National Hunt Chase and Irish Grand National winner Haiti Couleurs reappeared with a gutsy victory in the Pertemps Network qualifier at Newbury on Thursday afternoon, strengthening his claims as the leading British fancy for the 2026 Cheltenham Gold Cup in March. The eight-year-old, trained by Rebecca Curtis, was taking part in his first hurdles race since April 2024, but belied any rustiness in terms of fitness or hurdling experience with a triumph over front-running grey Bill Baxter.

Haiti Couleurs catapulted himself into the racing landscape with his 4 1/2-length Cheltenham Festival triumph in the 2025 National Hunt Chase before making a successful raid on Fairyhouse to land the Irish Grand National too. Those wins saw him improve to a rating of 152 over fences, but off a 7lb lower hurdles mark, he was expected to need his reappearance at Newbury before having his sights set on bigger tasks.

However, racing in second throughout under champion jockey Sean Bowen, the eight-year-old swept past long-time leader Bill Baxter in the straight, ultimately stamping his class on a decent field. His highest price of 25/1 remains for the Cheltenham Gold Cup, but he is now as short as 16/1 with BetMGM and AK Bets and 14/1 with SkyBet and Paddy Power to be the first British-trained winner since Native River in 2018.

He is also the favourite for the 2026 Grand National at this early stage of the season, with 16/1 the best on offer from bet365 and William Hill.