Harry Redknapp is excited that his dream of having a Gold Cup runner is close to being realised.
The former football manager, who has owned a winner at the Cheltenham Festival, also owns The Jukebox Man. Trained by Ben Pauling, the horse won a dramatic King George VI Chase in December.
That race is being used as the ideal stepping stone for this season’s Cheltenham Gold Cup. The Jukebox Man was second in the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle at the Festival in 2024. He may well have unfinished business at the big meeting.
Redknapp’s win at the Cheltenham Festival came in 2024 when Shakem Up’arry claimed the Plate Handicap Chase. That horse was also trained by Ben Pauling, with Ben Jones in the saddle. It is fair to say a Gold Cup win would feel somewhat different, however.
“We’ve got as good a chance as anything” – Redknapp
The Jukebox Man missed the Cheltenham Festival last season due to injury. He had won the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase, with the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase the aim.
However, he has come back an even stronger horse this season. Both Pauling and Jones have enjoyed tremendous seasons and Redknapp is thrilled to be involved.
Speaking to The Jockey Club as reported by Racing TV, Redknapp said: “It’s a dream to have a horse to run in the Gold Cup and go there with a chance.
“I’ve had an awful lot of horses, still got an awful lot. But this one has taken us to places that you only dream about as a racehorse owner. He’s my dream, he’s not for sale and he wouldn’t be for sale at any price.
“I’m not saying we’re going to win it we’ve got a serious horse, it’s an open race and I think we’ve got as good a chance as anything.”
On his charge’s unfinished business, Redknapp recalled the confidence the yard felt in The Jukebox Man in 2024.
“It was a dream to have a Festival winner (Shekam Up’arry), and then we could have had two. Ben fancied both of them. He was confident about this boy, as much as he was probably more than Skakem Up’arry. And I thought The Jukebox Man couldn’t win.
“He was like a 20-1 shot, or whatever he was at. But Ben was so bullish, and when he went clear, you were cantering still two out. You thought, Oh, my God, this is unreal. Two out, two winners. We got chinned on the line.”
The Gold Cup is the feature on day four of the Cheltenham Festival. The race takes place on Friday 13 March 2026.