Paul Nicholls could rewrite the jumps record books before the weekend is out, and Aintree has its Saturday fields in place. Away from the track, Betfred has walked away from the Classics and King Power Racing has sold off the bulk of its string. Here is the racing news today, rounded up for Friday.
Aintree Saturday declarations: Mydaddypaddy and No Drama This End confirmed
Both of Saturday’s Grade 2s at Aintree have cut up, but the quality remains. Five go to post for the Molyneux Hurdle at 1.45pm, headed by Dan Skelton’s Supreme third Mydaddypaddy, who starts his Champion Hurdle campaign under Harry Skelton. Alexei (Joe Tizzard), Lucky Place (Nicky Henderson), Gordon Elliott’s Mange Tout and Melon complete the field.
The Rising Stars Novices’ Chase at 2.25pm is down to five after Chanceawetmorning came out. Challow winner No Drama This End makes his chasing debut for Paul Nicholls, but the eye-catcher is the jockey booking. Sam Twiston-Davies takes the ride, with Harry Cobden, who partnered him in all seven of his starts under rules, sticking with Mickey Bowen’s Off The Jury. Skelton’s Talk To The Man, Ben Pauling’s Taurus Bay and Alan King’s Favour And Fortune are the others.
A 14-runner Pertemps Network Handicap Hurdle at 3pm, a qualifier for the Cheltenham Festival which includes Nicholls’ Red Risk, and a competitive 12-runner handicap chase at 3.35pm round off the card. The going is good to soft, good in places, with the course being watered.
Nicholls three away from Martin Pipe record
Nicholls needs just three more winners to pass Martin Pipe’s record of 3,930 British jumps winners, and two to draw level. He has three runners today, so a treble could be secured to do it in one afternoon.
Below The Radar kicks things off in the novices’ limited handicap chase at Aintree at 1.15pm, though he fell on his only previous start over fences. Paso Doble then runs in a handicap hurdle at Fontwell at 2.35pm under Paddy Hanlon, before Rubaud, a winner of the Pendil Novices’ Chase at Kempton in 2025, tackles a six-runner Haldon Gold Cup at 3pm. Twiston-Davies rides both of the Aintree runners.
If the record does not fall today, it may only be a matter of hours. Nicholls has four runners on Merseyside tomorrow, led by No Drama This End, and the 14-time champion trainer’s November form suggests it will not be long either way.
Betfred pulls out of Classics sponsorship after Budget
Betfred have announced that they will not renew their sponsorship of Britain’s five Classics. The bookmaker decided against a three-year renewal after the Budget raised machine games duty from 20 per cent to 25 per cent, saying the cumulative cost of government policy had left it with “no choice”.
Betfred backed the Derby and Oaks at Epsom and the St Leger at Doncaster from 2023, before adding the 2,000 and 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket from 2025. It became the first brand to put its name to all five and offered a £2 million Triple Crown bonus. Fred Done had warned before the Budget that the deal would go if the duty rose, and the firm’s modelling shows 284 of its 1,094 shops would become loss-making, with 1,420 jobs at risk.
The Jockey Club said it was “in conversations with a number of interested prospective partners” for its races. Arena Racing Company, which runs Doncaster, said the decision was not a surprise and pointed out that this year’s St Leger drew its biggest crowd since 2012. It is another blow to the sport’s sponsorship income, and the challenge now is finding backers before the 2027 Classic season.
King Power Racing sells off most of its horses
King Power Racing will race on next year, but with a much smaller stable. Of the 32 horses who have run for the Srivaddhanaprabha family’s operation this season, 27 have been sold, retired or listed as out of training.
The Lost King topped the Tattersalls Horses In Training Sale last month at 750,000gns, and five yearlings have been sold this year, including a Frankel filly out of Queen Power who made 1.4 million guineas. Six foals and 11 fillies and mares, Queen Power among them, are due to go through the ring at the Tattersalls December Sale. Racing manager Alastair Donald kept it brief, saying the family “still have a smaller stable to race next season”.
The decline has been steep. King Power had 439 runners in Britain in 2021, but this year it has had just 139, with 18 winners, its lowest return since starting out in 2017. Leicester City were reportedly put up for sale in August, and the family’s duty-free business has seen fewer customers at Thailand’s airports. Winter Power’s Nunthorpe and the Champions Sprint wins of Donjuan Triumphant and Art Power were the high points of a project that began under Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, who died in 2018.
Racing today
There are five British and Irish meetings today. Jumps racing is at Hexham, Aintree and Fontwell, while Newcastle and Dundalk race on the all-weather into the evening. The highlight is the Grade 2 Haldon Gold Cup at Aintree (3pm), switched from Exeter, where Rubaud takes on Dan Skelton’s Mirabad and Joe Tizzard’s JPR One over two miles on good to soft ground.
| Course | Code | First race | Last race |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hexham | Jumps | 12:25 | 15:52 |
| Aintree | Jumps | 12:40 | 16:05 |
| Fontwell | Jumps | 12:50 | 15:43 |
| Newcastle | All-weather | 14:53 | 19:00 |
| Dundalk | All-weather | 17:15 | 20:15 |
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