The 2025-26 Jumps Season: Rivalries, Redemption and the Road to Glory

There’s a particular kind of thrill that comes with the turn of autumn - the low light over Cheltenham, the thud of hooves on softening ground, the sense that the game is changing pace. Flat racing may have the glamour, but it’s over the fences and hurdles that British racing finds its theatre. The new jumps season is now in full flow, and already the storylines are taking shape - rivalries renewed, new talents emerging, and a calendar glittering with possibility.

The Masters at Work: Mullins, Skelton, Nicholls, Henderson - and the Rise of Lacey

It is rare that the trainer’s title becomes a genuine drama in its own right, but that is exactly what the National Hunt game has delivered. Last season, Willie Mullins snatched the British crown from Dan Skelton on the final day at Sandown - a coup that stung the home contingent and delighted his Irish base at Closutton. Mullins’ operation remains a thing of wonder: endless depth, faultless conditioning, and a ruthlessly efficient system that keeps Galopin Des Champs, Lossiemouth and a conveyor belt of novices like Ballyburn and Dysart Enos all thriving at once.
But British pride is stirring.

Dan Skelton, once the apprentice to Paul Nicholls, has grown into a force of his own. His yard at Lodge Hill now runs with the precision of a championship machine. Protektorat and Grey Dawning lead his attack, and with brother Harry in the saddle, their partnership has become one of the sport’s most symbiotic - trainer and jockey almost telepathically aligned. Having come agonisingly close to the title last spring, Skelton makes no secret that this year is about finishing the job.

Behind them, the old masters still matter. Nicholls’ Ditcheat empire ticks like clockwork, quietly producing class horses while Nicky Henderson remains a craftsman of patience and timing. His stable stars could yet define their divisions by March. Both men understand legacy: they’ve seen empires rise and fall, and they’re not ready to surrender their thrones.

And into this power struggle steps Tom Lacey, a RaceShare trainer who has spent the last few seasons converting quiet respect into genuine threat. Based in Herefordshire, Lacey has built a reputation for developing raw talent with meticulous care - turning good horses into proper ones. His progressive chasers have been catching the eye, and his operation has the hallmarks of a yard on the brink of a breakout campaign. Those who follow the form sheets closely know: when a Lacey horse travels to a graded track, it rarely does so by accident.

Further back, Olly Murphy and Jamie Snowden - also a RaceShare trainer - continue to build on smart campaigns, both mixing youth and nous. If the championship remains beyond reach this term, the foundations they’re laying may well be the story of the next decade.

The Men in the Saddle: Nerve, Timing and Ambition

Racing may belong to the horses, but its heartbeat is human.

Sean Bowen, reigning Champion Jockey, rides as if this season is personal. His rhythm, his judgment, and his ability to win from seemingly impossible positions mark him as a rider approaching greatness. The chemistry between Bowen and Olly Murphy - shrewd trainer and hungry rider - could yield another rich harvest of winners.

Harry Skelton, meanwhile, remains the soul of his brother’s team. No one reads a Lodge Hill horse better. His tactical nous and power in a finish are invaluable. Every ride feels like an audition for another title bid.

Harry Cobden brings calm authority to Ditcheat’s cause. Rarely flustered, rarely flashy, he’s the sort of rider every top-class chaser dreams of - decisive when it matters, invisible when it doesn’t. Nico de Boinville plays the same role for Henderson, his smooth style the perfect complement to his trainer’s measured approach.

From across the Irish Sea, Paul Townend continues to set the benchmark for poise and intelligence, his quiet dominance at Cheltenham now a familiar fixture. Alongside him, Jack Kennedy, still in his twenties but already a Grand National and Gold Cup winner, rides with the fearlessness of someone who knows his body can break - and does it anyway.

Six riders, all capable of brilliance. Each chasing the fine line between fame and pain.

The Festivals: Where It All Comes Together

The rhythm of a jumps season is its great symphony: built on anticipation, crescendoing towards the spring.

Cheltenham Festival (March) is the promised land, the week that defines lifetimes. Mullins will arrive mob-handed, as ever, but Skelton’s string is built for the undulations and the pressure.

Aintree (April) provides the grand public spectacle - the roar of the National, the shimmer of Liverpool’s April light, and the stories of endurance and chance. Expect Bowen, perhaps, to make his presence felt here: his style suits the flat, rhythmical track.

Kempton on Boxing Day offers its own revelation in the King George VI Chase, that midwinter crucible where reputations are built and broken.
In between lie the deep-cut treasures of the season: the Tingle Creek at Sandown, the Long Walk at Ascot, the Betfair Chase at Haydock - the places where the purists watch, notebook in hand, and say quietly: “That one will win in March.”

A Season Set for Greatness

This season feels balanced on a knife-edge - Irish might versus British defiance, experience against ambition, the young pushing at the old guard’s gates. Mullins begins as favourite, but Skelton’s intent is clear. Nicholls and Henderson are still there, scheming, while Tom Lacey and Olly Murphy bring a new, hungrier energy to the table.

Among the jockeys, Bowen and Skelton could define the championship, but Cobden, de Boinville, Townend and Kennedy all have the temperament for the grand stages.

From the mud of Chepstow to the roar of Prestbury Park, this is why jump racing endures: because every fence is a story, and every race a small act of faith.