41 horses have been entered for the Paddy Power Gold Cup, the first big handicap chase of the jumps season, at Cheltenham on Saturday 14 November. The race is due off at 2.20pm over 2m4f44y, and the winner will collect £91,120 of the £157,392 prize fund.
JP McManus’s Meetmebythesea heads the early betting at 4/1. Dan Skelton, who won the race 12 months ago with Panic Attack, has seven entries, including the second favourite Blueking d’Oroux and Festival Plate winner Madara. Panic Attack is not among the entries, and neither is Topham winner Will The Wise.
Here are the notable entries, followed by the full list.
Meetmebythesea (Ben Pauling)
Ben Pauling has made the Paddy Power Gold Cup the six-year-old’s plan A. Meetmebythesea won three of his four starts over fences last season. The best of them came in the Grade 2 Jack Richards Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase at the Festival in March, where he was on the pace throughout under Ben Jones and pulled clear after the last to win by four and three-quarter lengths at 9/1.
His connections skipped the Manifesto at Aintree to keep him for this race, and he is rated 151. Pauling has said he is a big horse who will come on for the run. The trends are against him in two ways. Only one six-year-old has won in the last ten years, and none of the last 12 winners won on their previous start. He is the most progressive horse in the field, though, and his only defeat last season came on heavy ground in the Game Spirit at Newbury.
Blueking d’Oroux (Dan Skelton)
The biggest news from the entries is that Blueking d’Oroux is now trained by Dan Skelton, having been with Paul Nicholls last season. The seven-year-old won the Grade 2 Rising Stars Novices’ Chase at Wincanton last November. He ended the campaign with two good runs, first going down by a neck in a handicap chase at Kempton in March, then staying on to be second at 22/1 in the Grade 1 Manifesto Novices’ Chase at Aintree.
He is rated 148, just above the 137-147 band that has produced six of the last ten winners. He makes his debut for a yard that has had a flying start to the season.
Madara (Dan Skelton)
Madara travelled smoothly in the Plate Handicap Chase at the Festival, led two out and drew seven and a half lengths clear to win at 3/1 under Harry Skelton. Next time out he ran another big race in the Topham at Aintree. He led at the last that day and was beaten only a length and a quarter into third, while carrying 11st 4lb.
The seven-year-old has won over course and distance and runs in the same Bryan Drew colours as Panic Attack. He is rated 152, just 3lb below the top-rated entries, so he will carry a big weight if those horses run. That is the main concern, because 22 of the last 25 winners carried no more than 11st 7lb.
Regent’s Stroll (Paul Nicholls)
Paul Nicholls won this race with Stage Star in 2023 and Il Ridoto in 2024, and he has three entries this time. Regent’s Stroll was third behind Meetmebythesea in the Jack Richards, then second in the Grade 1 Mildmay Novices’ Chase at Aintree over three miles. He is rated 149.
Vincenzo (Sam Thomas)
Vincenzo was second to Panic Attack in this race last year at 100/30. He led two out but was headed at the last and beaten four lengths. He was a length and a half second in the December Gold Cup at Cheltenham a month later, and then won a handicap chase at Ascot in January at 6/4.
He has not run since finishing fifth in the Greatwood Gold Cup at Newbury in February. On the trends, though, Sam Thomas‘s eight-year-old is the pick of the market leaders: he is the right age, he is rated 141, and he has solid Cheltenham form.
Jagwar, Quebecois and Here Comes Georgie
Jagwar was the ante-post favourite for this race last year before he was taken out because of the ground. He was placed in the December Gold Cup and the Ultima, then unseated his rider in the Grand National. He is one of three joint top-rated entries on 155, so he would carry top weight.
Nicholls’s Quebecois was beaten only a head into third in the Ultima at the Festival after making most of the running. He was second on his reappearance in an intermediate chase at Newton Abbot on 17 October. He is rated 141, inside the trends band.
Skelton’s Here Comes Georgie comes into the race in form. He won a handicap chase over 3m1f at Cheltenham’s Showcase meeting on 24 October at 3/1, travelling strongly before leading approaching the last.
Zurich (Henry de Bromhead)
Zurich is the main Irish hope and has won over course and distance. He stayed on to finish fifth in the Plate in March, beaten three and a quarter lengths, and was then a neck second in the Grade 2 Silver Trophy at Haydock in April. He was fifth on his reappearance at Limerick on 18 October.
Others to note
- Gidleigh Park (Harry Fry, 20/1): a course-and-distance winner and joint top-rated on 155. He was fifth in the Grade 1 Melling Chase at Aintree in April.
- Twinjets (Paul Nicholls, 20/1): made all to win a handicap chase at Ayr in April.
- Kykorock (Dan Skelton, 20/1): a six-year-old who won a handicap chase at Worcester on 12 October. He is rated 124, so he would need plenty of horses above him to come out to get a run.
- Matata and Master Chewy (Nigel & Willy Twiston-Davies, both 20/1): Nigel Twiston-Davies has won the race four times, the most of any current trainer.
Paddy Power Gold Cup 2026: full entries
Early prices as of 27 October. Weights will be confirmed closer to the race, and the field will be cut to the final declared runners on Thursday 12 November.
| Horse | Trainer | Age | OR | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meetmebythesea | Ben Pauling | 6 | 151 | 4/1 |
| Blueking d’Oroux | Dan Skelton | 7 | 148 | 6/1 |
| Madara | Dan Skelton | 7 | 152 | 8/1 |
| Regent’s Stroll | Paul Nicholls | 7 | 149 | 10/1 |
| Vincenzo | Sam Thomas | 8 | 141 | 10/1 |
| Here Comes Georgie | Dan Skelton | 8 | 130 | 12/1 |
| Jagwar | Oliver Greenall & Josh Guerriero | 7 | 155 | 12/1 |
| Quebecois | Paul Nicholls | 7 | 141 | 12/1 |
| Zurich | Henry de Bromhead | 7 | 135 | 16/1 |
| Gidleigh Park | Harry Fry | 8 | 155 | 20/1 |
| July Flower | Henry de Bromhead | 7 | 140 | 20/1 |
| Kykorock | Dan Skelton | 6 | 124 | 20/1 |
| Master Chewy | Nigel & Willy Twiston-Davies | 9 | 152 | 20/1 |
| Matata | Nigel & Willy Twiston-Davies | 8 | 155 | 20/1 |
| Torneo | Jamie Snowden | 6 | 133 | 20/1 |
| Twinjets | Paul Nicholls | 9 | 152 | 20/1 |
| Johnnywho | Jonjo & AJ O’Neill | 9 | 150 | 25/1 |
| Juby Ball | Mrs C Williams | 7 | 137 | 25/1 |
| Noble Park | Nicky Henderson | 7 | 132 | 25/1 |
| Norn Iron | Harry Derham | 8 | 137 | 25/1 |
| O’Moore Park | Martin Keighley | 9 | 138 | 25/1 |
| Guard Your Dreams | Nigel & Willy Twiston-Davies | 10 | 138 | 33/1 |
| Passing Diamond | Ben Haslam | 6 | 128 | 33/1 |
| Release The Beast | Paul Nolan | 7 | 132 | 33/1 |
| Rodney | Kerry Lee | 7 | 131 | 33/1 |
| Southoftheborder | Henrietta Knight | 8 | 130 | 33/1 |
| Teddy Blue | Harry Derham | 8 | 144 | 33/1 |
| Bad | Ben Pauling | 7 | 142 | 40/1 |
| Bluey | Emma Lavelle | 7 | 136 | 40/1 |
| Issam | Tom Symonds | 8 | 142 | 40/1 |
| Kingston Narcissus | Dan Skelton | 7 | 130 | 40/1 |
| Matterhorn | Dan Skelton | 8 | 143 | 40/1 |
| Classic Maestro | Jennie Candlish | 8 | 131 | 50/1 |
| Ifiwerearichman | Paul Nolan | 8 | 135 | 50/1 |
| Just Over Land | Sam Thomas | 7 | 123 | 50/1 |
| Mahons Glory | Dylan Cunha | 10 | 142 | 50/1 |
| Moon D’Orange | Christian Williams | 8 | 123 | 50/1 |
| Riskintheground | Dan Skelton | 9 | 146 | 50/1 |
| Asian Master | David Pipe | 9 | 134 | 66/1 |
| Scorsese | Noel Mulholland | 8 | 120 | 66/1 |
| Dunkerque | Jennie Candlish | 6 | 132 | 100/1 |
What the trends say
Dave Young’s Paddy Power Gold Cup trends point to a seven-to-nine-year-old rated between 137 and 147, carrying no more than 11st 7lb, with previous runs and ideally a win at Cheltenham. Six of the last ten winners came from fourth to eighth in the betting. Among the leading contenders, Vincenzo and Quebecois fit that profile best. Meetmebythesea has the most potential, but his age and his last-time-out win both count against him.
Keep an eye on our Paddy Power Gold Cup page for the latest odds and tips.
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