The jumps are properly back. Chepstow's opening day on Friday is where the National Hunt season starts for us, and the card has the Welsh Champion Hurdle and the Persian War on it. Newmarket has a Group 1, a Group 2 and 3 Group 3s. York has a decent Friday card too.
Before any of it, go back a year, because last year's Welsh Champion Hurdle is the best argument we can make for paying attention to this race.
What last year's Welsh Champion Hurdle turned into
On Sunday 12 October 2025, Celtic Dino won it off 137 at 6/4 as our Top Rated, beating Alexei by 2.25 lengths, with Wilful a further length and a half away in 3rd. A 9 runner Class 2 handicap worth £26,015. Nothing about it screamed anything at the time.
Look at what the first 3 did next.
Celtic Dino was 2nd in a Grade 2 at Ascot next time and then lined up in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton, a Grade 1, by which time he was rated 147.
Alexei was rated 127 that day. He won at Ascot a fortnight later, then won the Greatwood Handicap Hurdle off 134, was 3rd in Ascot's big festive handicap off 147, won the Kingwell Hurdle, a Grade 2, when rated 148, ran in the Champion Hurdle, and finished the season 3rd in a Grade 1 at Aintree rated 158. That is 31lb in 6 months.
Wilful was rated 134 that day. He won Ascot's festive handicap hurdle off 135 in December, with Alexei back in 3rd. He won the County Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival off 144. And he ended the season 3rd in the Champion Hurdle at Punchestown rated 152, behind Lossiemouth and Golden Ace.
So one 9 runner handicap at Chepstow in October produced a horse who went up 31lb, a Festival handicap winner who went up 18lb, and a third who ran in 2 Grade 1s. That is why we go through this race properly, and we think there are 1 or 2 in it again.
1:22 Chepstow, Wasdell Group Novices Hurdle, Division I (Class 4, 2m 16y, £5,446)
Dan Skelton's Cooltobecareless makes his hurdles debut, with Harry Skelton up.
He had a decent first season: 2nd on debut for the yard, then won a bumper, then went to Aintree for the Grade 2 bumper and was well beaten in 12th. We would not read much into that last one. He is a horse who has already won a 3m point to point, and fences are where he ends up. The question is whether he can pick up a hurdle race on the way, and we think he can.
Being straight about it, he is our RTR 2 here, not our Top Rated. Olly Murphy's King's Scholar heads our figures off 123 and has the experience. But a Skelton newcomer with a point to point win already on his record is the one we want to be watching.
The other 12 races, including the Welsh Champion Hurdle, the Persian War, the Fillies' Mile and the Old Rowley Cup, are below for Premium and Pro members.