Eye Catchers

Hi Reader,

Three this week: an Albert Bartlett winner off the mark over fences, a Skelton novice who won his maiden hurdle with plenty in hand, and an Alan King nine-year-old with a Newbury target later this month.

Johnny's Jury (Jamie Snowden)

Won the 1.20 at Worcester on 1 November

Johnny's Jury won nicely at Worcester on his first run over fences. Dalston Boy set a solid gallop, with the more experienced Crest Of Fortune finishing second. He got the ninth fence wrong but never looked like falling, which is a good sign in a novice chaser, and jumped well from there. This horse has bags of stamina, as we saw when he powered up the Cheltenham hill to win the Albert Bartlett last season. His trainer mentioned the Esher Novices' Chase at Sandown in December as his next target. That stiff two and a half miles on winter ground would suit, and it's a race won recently by good horses like Handstands and Salver.

St James's Finest (Dan Skelton)

Won the 1.25 at Chepstow on 4 November

St James's Finest won division one of the two-mile maiden hurdle in a fast time, powering home over the final two furlongs to win by thirteen lengths. Harry Skelton eased him down near the line and he finished with plenty left in the tank. He won a very good Windsor bumper on his second and final run last season; previous winners of that race include Idaho Sun, who went on to win the Grade 1 Formby Hurdle, and Tripoli Flyer. The 2025 winner of this Chepstow maiden hurdle was Sober Glory, who might well have won the Supreme Novices' Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival but for a mistake at the last. St James's Finest will stay further and could be a Turners Novices' Hurdle contender if he keeps progressing.

Masaccio (Alan King)

Won the 2.25 at Newbury on 5 November

Masaccio surprised connections by winning the Pertemps qualifier at Newbury at 33/1. He was returning from an absence since winning a novice chase at Ayr in April 2025, and Alan King thought he would blow up after two and a half miles. If he comes out of the race well, the plan is to switch back to fences for the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury later in November. As a novice he finished third in the Kauto Star Novices' Chase won by The Jukebox Man. He was well beaten at Kempton, but ran two cracking races to finish third twice at Cheltenham over two miles four and a half furlongs, and he enjoyed going up in trip when winning over three miles at Ayr. A mature nine-year-old with not many miles on the clock, he's worth following in the premier handicap chases over three miles plus for the rest of the season.

All three are also on the website, with a quick-reference table and links to free horse trackers: Eye Catchers November 2026​

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Happy punting,

Hugh

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