Ben Jones Saturday rides blog: 'There's only five of us and he'll handle the heavy ground with no problem'

Ben Jones previews his one ride at Sandown on Saturday, January 31, 2026. In his latest blog, the Ladbrokes ambassador also discusses his controversial photo finish at Cheltenham last week, Ladbrokes Dublin Racing Festival and Dan Skelton's Prestbury Cup bid.

• Pic Roc - Sandown - 3.42 race odds

3.42 - Sandown - Pic Roc

Pic Roc is my only ride of the day at Sandown on Saturday, but he's one with loads of ability. He ran a really nice race the last day, he just made a couple of little jumping errors and did well in the end to finish up where he did. He ran a cracker in the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury, and if he can get into that kind of rhythm then hopefully he shouldn't be too far away here. There's only five of us, so we'll have loads of room, and loads of time to get involved. 

His season started at Worcester, where he unseated me, but he got a much-needed confidence boost at Huntingdon next time out, winning on that day, before running a cracker at Newbury. Then I really fancied him at Ascot last month, and he actually got himself into a really nice rhythm, it was just a couple of errors in jumping and that was our race gone... he's got a really nice technique when jumping, but for whatever reason he likes to take one with him every so often, so that's what we've got to be mindful of with him. 

But, like I said, there's only five of us, and he'll handle the heavy ground with no problem at all. We'll see where we're at when turning for home, at a course he's ran around before. So he might be my only ride of the day, but I'm hopeful we've got a good chance in him. 

Cheltenham last week

Despite the final result in the last race of the day with Taurus Bay, I was actually very pleased on the whole with his performance. Obviously it's never good to get beaten by a nose, but our lad ran a cracker, and he will have learned a hell of a lot from that race. It's probably the first race he's been properly involved in to a good standard. We're not going to lose any momentum with him in defeat; we still hold him in very high regard, and hopefully that ride has put us right for Cheltenham.

Of course it was a strange scenario we were in because of the delayed start. But the majority of horses were still there, fully tuned, and we were there as jockeys in the paddock waiting for the green light. First and foremost, it's obviously about making sure the track was safe, and that everyone was happy with the race going ahead. But Ben Pauling went down to look at the track with a couple of the jockeys, and as much as Ben will have wanted Taurus Bay to run, if it wasn't safe, it wasn't safe, you know. As soon as he came back and gave the nod, we all jumped on and went down to the start.

The only thing that probably wouldn't have been ideal for them because of the light at that time of the day would have been a photo finish, and of course that's what happened in the end. It's terrible that photo got published, really, because they have got a high-definition photo that they use on the day, which I saw, and it was clear as day I'd been beaten by a nose. And that was it. Obviously, we don't want to get beat, and we definitely don't want to get beaten by that sort of distance, but crossing the line I thought Brendan [Powell] had just got up. When they call a photo, you're crossing everything, but I was more hopeful than expectant, to be honest.

Dublin Racing Festival

It's a big weekend in Ireland at the Ladbrokes Dublin Racing Festival, but in regard to me going over there, if there was something for Ben [Pauling] or something else I was involved with, then I'd have loved to have been there. You know, if The Jukebox Man was running over there, then of course I'd have been excited. But he's not, so I'm not fussed!

I'll definitely be watching as much as I can, though, because there'll be a good few of those horses coming over to us in March, so it'll be good to do some homework on them. 

The two I'm most looking forward to watching are Romeo Coolio and Galopin Des Champs, the latter just because I'm interested to see how he comes back. There are top-class horses running all weekend, but those two stand out to me. If I had the choice of riding any of them out there this weekend, I think I'd go with Galopin just because of his career up to this point, and what he's done. He looks a very good spin, and very uncomplicated. I'd pick him before any of the others, and then in terms of a youngster coming through, I'd probably pick Romeo.

In terms of who wins the Irish Gold Cup, for me it's as simple as the favourite, Galopin.

You've got the likes of Majborough and Marine Nationale in the Dublin Chase. Majborough is obviously a very talented horse, but for whatever reason, he doesn't jump. Marine Nationale looks very, very straight-forward. Of the two, I'd probably say Marine Nationale wins it.

And then you've got the Irish Champion Hurdle, with Lossiemouth and Brighterdaysahead leading the way in the betting. I'd like to see Lossiemouth win that one; another very classy horse who hasn't done a lot wrong in her career, other than that fall at Leopardstown a year ago. She's beaten Brighterdaysahead before, so I'd think she'll do the same again this weekend.

Prestbury Cup & Dan Skelton

I was actually talking about the Prestbury Cup earlier this week, and I don't want to get too carried away but I think the Brits are in a really good place. We can't say we're going to absolutely smash them and that it's going to be a walk in the park. But Willie [Mullins]'s aren't exactly firing at the minute, but you can guarantee he'll get to March and they'll all be up there, winning those races at Cheltenham.

But I'd like to think we can give them a run for their money this year, and hopefully we can be level pegging, like it was in 2019. I don't think it'll be a walk in the park for either side, but I will say it's probably the strongest line-up we've had in Britain for a good few years.

As for the Trainers' Championship, I would like to think this is the year Dan [Skelton] finally wins it. I hope he does, as well. You know, to be fair to Dan and his team, they've achieved so much in the last few years, and they've obviously got a very good set-up at home which is why they're enjoying so much success. They've already hit over £3 million this year, so I think it's going to take something very special for Willie to catch up and overtake him. Obviously if what happened in the Grand National last year hadn't have happened, it would have been very close - but if you're relying on one race and a very good Cheltenham, it's probably a bit too far stretched for Willie this year.

In terms of that table, though, it's great seeing Ben [Pauling] up there. We're very, very close, and well among some of the biggest names in the sport, which is a massive credit to Ben and the team. Look, if we're being realistic, we're obviously not going to be anywhere near Skelton and the £3m mark for a couple of years, but the way we've gone from strength to strength each season tells everyone we're going in the right direction. They're top, top trainers up there, and Ben is very much the new kid on the block. Hopefully we can just keep building slowly, and maybe one day soon we can give it a right good go!

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