Big races come thick and fast during racing’s post-Christmas silly season, but here is the Jumps Journal’s definitive ranking of our Grade 1 winners in Great Britain and Ireland so far.
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GG Jumps Journal – GB & Ire Grade 1 Winners So Far Ranked
9. Golden Ace – Fighting Fifth Hurdle (29th November)
For a horse whose Official Rating has never clambered beyond 152, Golden Ace has quite the CV. As of her battling success in the Fighting Fifth, she now has two Grade 1s, a Grade 1 runner-up at Punchestown and a further Grade 2 victory at the Cheltenham Festival. It is a resumé most connections could only dream about, but there is no escaping the role of fate’s fickle finger in her journey. Jumping may be the name of the game, yet benefitting from the two favourites falling in both the Champion Hurdle and Fighting Fifth, as well as Anzadam’s untimely visit to sample some of Newcastle’s finest pre-race, is, in itself, a remarkable accomplishment. This form is unlikely to amount to much once Cheltenham rolls around, although the Champion Hurdle picture continues to cloud over. What we learned conclusively, is that Golden Ace is as talented an understudy as they come.
8. Envoi Allen – Down Royal Champion Chase (1st November)
Envoi Allen would make for a strapping statue at Down Royal, but his third victory in the venue’s Champion Chase at the start of November will not be one to hark back to from a form perspective. In its own right, it was superb to witness the prodigal son turned vaunted veteran gallop his four rivals into the ground, two of whom have won since, but only one of them was rated above 157 and Found A Fifty looked a blatant non-stayer of 3m in the final straight. Where Envoi Allen goes next is irrelevant for he is now a ten-time Grade 1 hero from 22 appearances at the top level and can enjoy whatever swansong Cheveley Park deem worthy of his stellar career.
7. Grey Dawning – Betfair Chase (22nd November)
On paper, the 2025 Betfair Chase appeared to require more winning than many recent editions, but ultimately Grey Dawning needed nursing through Haydock’s test as cajoling failed to awaken his quartet of rivals. Dan Skelton’s dazzling derring-doer was undeniably impressive in sweeping aside Royale Pagaille, which he had failed to do on heavier ground the year prior, but beating Venetia Williams’ 11-year-old at Haydock is a scalable barrier nowadays, especially as he was easily beaten twice at his favourite track earlier in 2025. With Haiti Couleurs blatantly below his best, Handstands failing to stay and Stellar Story in need of about eight miles, Grey Dawning’s achievements require some salt pinching, but he demonstrated rude wellbeing and the Gold Cup should be firmly on the agenda for March.
6. Teahupoo – Hatton’s Grace Hurdle (30th November)
Three Hatton’s Grace Hurdles is an admirable haul. Teahupoo is not the flashiest horse which arguably makes his Fairyhouse hat-trick worthy of greater celebration among Gordon Elliott’s Cullentra staff. At his best over 3m, to have won three 2m4f Grade 1s is a noble feat, having downed the likes of Honeysuckle, Impaire Et Passe and Ballyburn in the doing, but this third success came in a messy race, only besting 146-rated stablemate Casheldale Lad, admittedly an improving type, at the last hurdle before seeing off Ballyburn with courtesy to the nod. This form may well be reversed come season’s end, hence its relatively low standing in the Grade 1 pecking order so far, but we may have witnessed the two Stayers’ Hurdle favourites and its most likely combatants in a few months’ time.
5. Romeo Coolio – Drinmore Novice Chase (30th November)
A relative dearth of opposition leaves Romeo Coolio in mid-division among our rankings so far, but make no mistake: this is an improved horse from last season. The six-year-old was a useful novice hurdler in 2024/25, but had ground to make up on the best of his contemporaries. The chasm diminished straight away when he won by 14 lengths on debut at Down Royal and may have vanished entirely since his Drinmore rout during which Jack Kennedy could have brewed a cuppa. There were eight lengths back to unbeaten 153-rated chaser Gold Dancer, trained by Willie Mullins, and 9½ lengths to Scottish Grand National hero Captain Cody. The latter will have found 2m4f too sharp, but his experience should have been an asset to attack Romeo Coolio with; instead, we left having seen a genuine Arkle contender in what is swiftly becoming one of the most anticipated races of the 2026 Cheltenham Festival.
4. Lossiemouth – Morgiana Hurdle (22nd November)
This lesson was more of an “introduction to” module than a university lecture, but Lossiemouth’s mere presence in the Morgiana Hurdle taught us plenty. Her 19-length stroll was made all the easier by stablemate Irancy’s desperately underwhelming effort in last of four, but just seeing the two-time Mares’ Hurdle heroine run over 2m was a potentially significant clue to future targets. That clue only shone brighter when Anzadam acted up in the Fighting Fifth, while Mullins’ best 2m novice hurdlers from last season have both gone over fences already. With Irancy disappointing, Lossiemouth appears to stand highest above Closutton’s Champion Hurdle contenders now State Man is absent and her composed canter to an eighth Grade 1 confirmed once more that she is a true Cheltenham champion elect if connections are brave enough.
3. Il Etait Temps – Tingle Creek (6th December)
Only three horses have beaten Il Etait Temps over fences in nine career chase starts. Gaelic Warrior has done it twice, with Found A Fifty’s second in the 2024 Arkle also enough to beat the terrier-like grey, but that is all. In five races since that Arkle third, Il Etait Temps is a perfect five for five, improving his jumping and dishing out reality checks to the likes of Grey Dawning, Gaelic Warrior himself, and Jonbon along the way. This Tingle Creek triumph was a display of further progression, delivering a devastating blow to Jonbon and L’Eau du Sud on the turn for home before mopping up his sixth Grade 1 Triumph by nine lengths. A poor Cheltenham record is the only thing stopping him from being a convincing Champion Chase favourite, but layers do so at their peril, as the seven-year-old looks to have developed into a completely new animal.
2. Lulamba – Henry VIII Novices’ Chase (6th December)
The 2025 Triumph Hurdle is not only historic for its 100/1 upset, but is swiftly becoming all the more remarkable given the defeat by Poniros of Lulamba, who is on the heady ascent undertaken by so many two-milers at Seven Barrows. The four-year-old is probably more Altior or Jonbon than Sprinter Sacre or Constitution Hill; indeed, it looks for all the world like he will improve for trips beyond 2m and yet he is already devastating at the minimum distance. He gets a weight-for-age allowance until New Year’s Day, but it is unlikely Nicky Henderson will be perturbed by that dissolving before the Arkle at Cheltenham. Despite some skewiff leaps and an occasionally ungainly action, he beat three rivals likely to be 150-rated yardsticks by 9½ lengths virtually on the bridle. As expected, he has already shaped into a better chaser than hurdler, with even his debut chase form being franked since, and he is worthy of challenging Kopek Des Bordes for Arkle favouritism.
1.Gaelic Warrior – John Durkan Chase (23rd November)
Little more needs saying about the rollercoaster ride Gaelic Warrior took us on in the John Durkan at Punchestown, but there is a danger we underrate the performance he put in to overcome Fact To File. To go hell for leather against a field containing a Gold Cup winner, Grand National winner and Ryanair Chase winner among others, get caught, and then rally to bow his head ever so gamely over the line in front was an extraordinary feat of excellence. He is the King George favourite and will win at Kempton if over his exertions, though that is no gimme given the extent to which depths were plunged. Further ahead, the Gold Cup is now a realistic target over the horizon and with Galopin Des Champs hearing whispers of twilight, Rich Ricci’s star could even be the Mullins number one come the 13th March.
GG Jumps Journal – Golden Ace is only as lucky as the best
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Wed 03 Dec 2025Tip for the Weekend
He may have Jagwar to contend with this time, but the December Gold Cup is Hoe Joly Smoke’s for the taking. He was an eyecatching third in the Paddy Power Gold Cup last month behind stablemate and subsequent Coral Gold Cup winner Panic Attack, but has no stable companions blocking him from being the Skelton number one here. Off the same mark in this and should go very close.