Ben Jones Saturday rides blog - October 24, 2026

1.45 - Woodstock Octo

Woodstock Octo is one I don't know a whole lot about to be honest. I know he's won a couple of point-to-points in Ireland, and Kayley [Woollacott] brought him over. I've seen he's won his last five or six races, in pretty small fields. But I think they like him, hence why he's got a Cheltenham entry. But saying that, I think the favourite is rated around 120, so he's going to have  to run some to be competitive. But Josh and Kayley know what they're doing, and I'd like to think that if he's in this race, it's because they think he's more than capable of running to this form. 

2.20 - Hang In There

Hang In There is next for me, and this is an old chap who has been around the block. He's known to be a chaser. I'm guessing this is just going to be a prep run for something. He's the outsider here and he'll know what he's capable of doing more than anyone; he's been there and done it a few times now. He probably is a better chaser than he has been a hurdler, but then he hasn't hurdled for a good season or two now, so maybe this might spark something in him. I'd say we're probably going after a bit of place money here.

4.40 - Milord D'anjou

I finish the day with Milord d'Anjou, owned by Basher Watts. He's a new recruit for us who is doing everything nicely at home. He's schooling away and he's actually ready to run over hurdles. I think just because this race has come up, Ben [Pauling] has thrown him in. He's very, very straight-forward. He doesn't do anything too flashy at home, but they tend to be the better ones for us. This is a nice little bumper to start him off in - I think there are 14 of us in there, and I think we'll learn a lot about him - and he'll learn a lot on the job - on Saturday.

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