Daryl Jacob has an update on seven of the Double Green horses he's looking forward to seeing in the upcoming National Hunt campaign.
It's an exciting time of year with the first Cheltenham meeting on the horizon this weekend.
Obviously it's a bit different for me now I've retired from riding but I'm getting used to the new day job, being assistant racing manager for owners Simon Munir and Isaac Souede, who have been so good to me in keeping me involved in team Double Green.
I've got media commitments, too, that are going well, but in my role for Simon and Isaac I've been going round our trainers over the last month or so to see how this season's horses are coming along.
The five horses I put up in the book are all mainly going well.
Kibris was second at Cork on his hurdling debut which was a pleasing effort and Quantum Quest won a handicap hurdle at Roscommon at 9/2. Hopefully we'll see Le Frimeur and Raffles Dolce Vita on the racetrack soon, as well.
However, now I've done my rounds there are seven more horses for you to get in your My Stable trackers. I've gone for a mixture of big guns and dark horses but they are all going well at home ahead of the upcoming campaign.
Blizzard Of Oz (Willie Mullins)
“He's taken well to chasing and is already rated 147 after just four chasing starts. He's a second season novice chaser and sometimes that can be a real benefit with the experience he has gained.
“He knows what it is all about. He was second in the big chase at the Punchestown Festival looking like he was going to win only to be beaten a head into second by Sea Music.
“He's really exciting. He's going to be a proper staying chaser for this year and he could go right to the top in the staying division over fences.”
Green Hint (Stuart Crawford)
“He won a point-to-point, and he was second in the Goff's Defender Bumper at the Punchestown Festival. That was a huge run. This horse is still very green, very inexperienced, but again, he's done really, really well over the summertime.
“He's going to go, I would imagine, in maiden hurdles over two miles and then see how that works out towards the end of the season. But I think this horse has got a really bright future.
“We can look forward to seeing Green Hint make his debut over hurdles in the next five or six weeks.”
Green Splendour (Willie Mullins)
“High on the list has to be Green Splendour. He won the Grade 2 bumper at the Aintree Festival this year. It was very, very convincing, that performance. I think he's a horse that's done really well over the summertime and I'm really looking forward to him going hurdling this year.
“I would imagine he'll start off over two miles, but it wouldn't surprise me if he's a bit like Jasmin De Vaux and stepped up in trip as the season goes along.
“He could possibly be an Albert Bartlett type of horse, he's definitely not going to be a Supreme horse anyway and I'd imagine it depends on how he handles his racing and jumping. He's done a lot of jumping and he’s been going well at home.”
Intense Raffles (Thomas Gibney)
“Our Irish Grand National winner looked very very impressive that day at Fairyhouse last year and we trained him for one race and one race only in 2024-25, the Grand National at Aintree, but as it turned out the ground was probably too lively for him that day at Liverpool.
“Unfortunately there was no rain about and it was good ground and it all just happened a bit too quickly for him. JJ Slevin looked after him but we're just really going to concentrate on the big staying handicap chases this year and whenever he gets his favourite ground again he’ll be ready.
“I think he'll be very, very dangerous and he could potentially start out in something like the Betfair Chase at Haydock where we were very, very successful with Bristol de Mai in the past. I can't wait to see Intense Raffles. Hopefully he'll have a good run of things this year.”
Jack The Lad (Thomas Gibney)
“You probably wouldn't have heard much about this fellow, but he won a point-to-point, and he was third in a few bumpers at Gowran Park and Cork.
“He's going to go hurdling and wants a minimum of two and a half miles. He could even end up stepping up to three miles. He’ll like soft ground and a nice big galloping track. He's a horse that travels really nicely.
“He has probably just been getting outpaced a little bit towards the end of his races, but he still ran through the line very, very well.”
Look Me (Stuart Crawford)
“He was second in the Tattersall sales bumper at Fairyhouse in April.
“Again, he looked very, very green that day, very backwards. Mentally, he came on an awful lot for that run. We didn't get another run into him, unfortunately, because the ground was drying out. But he's done very, very well over the summertime.
“I would imagine he might potentially start out in a bumper, but it wouldn't be too long before he goes straight over hurdles. So, again, he's another horse that's filled out into himself.
“I saw him about three weeks ago and he is doing very well in the yard. I’m very much looking forward to him and seeing how he gets on at the start of the new campaign.”
Talk The Talk (Joseph O’Brien)
“He was second in the Goffs Hundred Grand Bumper at Newbury and made a lovely start over hurdles at Limerick on October 18.
“He's a good mover and jumps very very well at home, while I liked how he recovered from his mistake at the fourth on his hurdling bow. He could have a really exciting season ahead of him. He’s just got a wonderful way of carrying himself, nice action, good jumping, and he's a flashy horse as well, so you won't miss him walking around the parade ring.”
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