Cheltenham Friday Preview 2026: Shloer Chase and the Card

Cheltenham calls the Friday Countryside Day. Its own page for the day lists gates opening at 10:30am and six races, with a note that times and races can change:

Off	Race	What it is	Entries
1:10pm	AIS Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle	Class 3 handicap hurdle, a qualifier for the Challenger Staying Hurdle Series Final	63
1:45pm	Mucking Brilliant Paddy Power Novices' Chase	Listed novices' chase	9
2:20pm	Shloer Chase	Grade 2 chase	7
2:55pm	Jilly Cooper Veterans Chase	Class 2 handicap chase for veterans	16
3:30pm	Hyde Novices' Hurdle	Grade 2 novices' hurdle, run under Albert Bartlett's sponsorship	15
4:00pm	Valda Energy Novices' Handicap Hurdle	Class 3 novices' handicap hurdle	35

The entry counts are from the cards published on 8 November. The two handicap hurdles at either end of the day have far more entries than can run, so those fields will look very different after Thursday's declarations. The three Class 1 races in the middle of the card are much closer to their final shape.

The veterans' chase is named this year for the author Jilly Cooper, whom the course is honouring on the day.

Saturday's card is built around the Paddy Power Gold Cup and Sunday's around the Greatwood Handicap Hurdle, both big-field handicaps. Friday is different: its three best races are not handicaps, so the fields are smaller and the horses meet on terms much closer to level weights.

The Shloer Chase is registered as the Cheltenham Chase and was first run in 2009. It has 7 entries this year:

Horse	Age	Trainer	Official rating
Jonbon	10	Nicky Henderson	165
JPR One	9	Joe Tizzard	161
Libberty Hunter	10	Cath Williams	159
Gidleigh Park	8	Harry Fry	155
Saint Segal	8	Jane Williams	153
Mighty Bandit	6	Warren Greatrex	151
Calico	10	Dan Skelton	148

The names are the same on Sporting Life's card, horseracing.net's card and in PA's entries report. The ratings are from Sporting Life's card alone. It shows Jonbon set to carry 11st 10lb and the other six 11st 4lb, so he would give each of them 6lb.

Jonbon (Nicky Henderson)

JonbonAdd Jonbon to the Horse Tracker won this race in 2023 and 2024 for Nicky HendersonAdd Nicky Henderson to the Horse Tracker. He was odds-on to win it a third time last year and finished second of six to L'Eau Du SudAdd L'Eau Du Sud to the Horse Tracker, who is not among this year's entries. Jonbon is the highest-rated horse in the race by 4lb. He has not run since March, so this would be his first start of the season.

Three horses have won the race two years running since it became a Grade 2 in 2015: Fox Norton, Nube Negra and Jonbon. None of them won it a third time.

JPR One (Joe Tizzard)

JPR OneAdd JPR One to the Horse Tracker is the only horse in the race with a win in our results files this season. He won a 1m7f handicap chase here on 23 October at 3/1, then finished second of six in the Haldon Gold Cup, which was rearranged to Aintree, on 6 November at 11/4. Friday would be his third run in three weeks for Joe TizzardAdd Joe Tizzard to the Horse Tracker.

Calico (Dan Skelton)

CalicoAdd Calico to the Horse Tracker was fourth in the race JPR One won here on 23 October, starting at the same price. He is the lowest-rated of the seven, and PA's report describes this as a step up in class for him. Dan SkeltonAdd Dan Skelton to the Horse Tracker won the race last year.

Gidleigh Park (Harry Fry)

Gidleigh ParkAdd Gidleigh Park to the Horse Tracker is also entered in Saturday's Paddy Power Gold Cup, where he shares top weight. Harry FryAdd Harry Fry to the Horse Tracker has said the horse is more likely to run in a non-handicap, and this race was the one mentioned. He has not run this season.

The other three

Libberty HunterAdd Libberty Hunter to the Horse Tracker (Cath WilliamsAdd Cath Williams to the Horse Tracker) was second in the Champion Chase at the Festival in March, according to PA, and has not run since. Mighty BanditAdd Mighty Bandit to the Horse Tracker (Warren GreatrexAdd Warren Greatrex to the Horse Tracker) is the youngest in the race at six; PA reports that he won three handicaps in a row last season and was last seen at Aintree in the spring. Saint SegalAdd Saint Segal to the Horse Tracker (Jane WilliamsAdd Jane Williams to the Horse Tracker) has had one run this season, fourth of eight in a handicap chase at Ffos Las on 14 October at 6/1.

Form lines below are from our own results files, which hold every British and Irish result since 1 June 2026. Prices are starting prices.

Mucking Brilliant Paddy Power Novices' Chase, 1:45pm

A Listed novices' chase over about three miles and a furlong. Nine horses are in it at this stage, and PA reports that nine is also the maximum field.

• ChanceawetmorningAdd Chanceawetmorning to the Horse Tracker is trained by Gordon ElliottAdd Gordon Elliott to the Horse Tracker and has won his last two starts over fences: at Sligo on 30 September at 2/1, and a Grade 3 novice chase at Punchestown on 14 October at 11/2.
• Follow Your LuckAdd Follow Your Luck to the Horse Tracker and Derryhassen PaddyAdd Derryhassen Paddy to the Horse Tracker have already met over the same trip here. They were second and third of six in a novices' chase at the Showcase meeting on 24 October, at 18/1 and 4/1.
• IntosomethinggoodAdd Intosomethinggood to the Horse Tracker was third of three in a novices' chase over three miles at Aintree on 6 November at 4/1.
• Kingston NarcissusAdd Kingston Narcissus to the Horse Tracker and DunkerqueAdd Dunkerque to the Horse Tracker are both entered in Saturday's Paddy Power Gold Cup as well. Kingston Narcissus was third of six in a Premier Handicap chase at Wetherby on 30 October at 11/8. Dunkerque has run five times since June and won twice.

Jilly Cooper Veterans Chase, 2:55pm

A Class 2 handicap chase over about two and a half miles. Sixteen horses are in it at this stage.

• Three of them ran against each other in a veterans' handicap chase at Market Rasen on 25 October, a five-runner race: Triple TradeAdd Triple Trade to the Horse Tracker won at 15/8, Sure TouchAdd Sure Touch to the Horse Tracker was third at 9/4 and Ga LawAdd Ga Law to the Horse Tracker fifth at 9/2.
• Thunder RockAdd Thunder Rock to the Horse Tracker won a handicap chase at Perth on 15 October at 11/4.
• SherborneAdd Sherborne to the Horse Tracker ran as recently as 10 November, fourth of five in a veterans' handicap chase at Huntingdon at 4/1.
• Mahons GloryAdd Mahons Glory to the Horse Tracker and Guard Your DreamsAdd Guard Your Dreams to the Horse Tracker are also entered in the Paddy Power Gold Cup.

Hyde Novices' Hurdle, 3:30pm

A Grade 2 novices' hurdle over about two miles and five furlongs. Fifteen horses are in it at this stage. It is sponsored by Albert Bartlett, and it is a different race from the three-mile novices' hurdle the same sponsor backs at the Festival in March.

• Woodstock OctoAdd Woodstock Octo to the Horse Tracker has won at the course this season: a novices' hurdle at the Showcase meeting on 24 October at 9/2. Otie's FriendAdd Otie's Friend to the Horse Tracker was third of seven in another novices' hurdle there the day before, at 16/1.
• Lock StockAdd Lock Stock to the Horse Tracker and Hopeful HeroAdd Hopeful Hero to the Horse Tracker both ran in the Persian War Novices' Hurdle, a Grade 2 at Chepstow on 9 October with 11 runners. Lock Stock was third at 9/1, after winning his two starts before that at Worcester. Hopeful Hero was fifth at 50/1.
• Luck Between UsAdd Luck Between Us to the Horse Tracker won three of four handicap hurdles in Ireland between 16 July and 26 September.
• Dallas StarAdd Dallas Star to the Horse Tracker was second of six at 5/4 in a Listed novice hurdle at Limerick on 17 October.
• Four of them have run once in our files and won: Petersham PlaceAdd Petersham Place to the Horse Tracker at Perth and FerocimoAdd Ferocimo to the Horse Tracker at Fontwell, both on 15 October, Divine DivaAdd Divine Diva to the Horse Tracker at Chepstow on 11 October, and HitintheheadlinesAdd Hitintheheadlines to the Horse Tracker at Chepstow on 10 October at 14/1.

A horse entered in two races at the meeting will run in one of them at most, so Thursday's declarations will thin these lists.

Most of the Shloer field has not run since the summer

The Shloer Chase has 7 entries, and four of those horses have no run in our results files, which start on 1 June: JonbonAdd Jonbon to the Horse Tracker, Gidleigh ParkAdd Gidleigh Park to the Horse Tracker, Libberty HunterAdd Libberty Hunter to the Horse Tracker and Mighty BanditAdd Mighty Bandit to the Horse Tracker. The other three have had four runs between them this season, for one win. So for most of the field Friday would be a first run back, and the form you are reading is last season's.

Their trainers in the last 14 days

Jumps runs in Britain and Ireland from 28 October to 10 November, in our results files:

Trainer	Winners	Runners
Dan Skelton	23	99
Joe Tizzard	7	30
Nicky Henderson	4	14
Cath Williams	3	31
Harry Fry	2	12
Warren Greatrex	2	11
Jane Williams	1	9

Dan SkeltonAdd Dan Skelton to the Horse Tracker has had the most winners and by far the most runners. Nicky HendersonAdd Nicky Henderson to the Horse Tracker has had few runners so far, and four of his 14 have won. Samples this small are background, not a betting angle.

Henderson and Skelton at Cheltenham's autumn meetings

Our race database starts in October 2023. At the Showcase and November meetings combined, from 2023 to 2025, Nicky Henderson had 8 winners from 32 runners and Dan Skelton 12 from 63.

Favourites at the November Meeting

In the same database the favourite won 36.8% of the 57 races at Cheltenham's November Meeting from 2023 to 2025. That is close to the figure for all British jumps racing in the database, 37.1%. A favourite that wins a little more than one race in three still loses money over time at starting price, because the prices already allow for it.

The StableBet Rating, our pounds figure for each runner, appears beside every horse on the racecard once the fields are declared.

When the model's view lands

Friday's races are not on a declared card yet, so our model has nothing to rate. Its timetable:

• Thursday 12 November, 2:10pm: the day-before provisional view, once the fields are declared. The model's chances for every Shloer Chase runner will then show in the box on this page.
• Friday 13 November, 5am: the final ratings and fair prices for every British race on the AI Lab's daily card.

Neither is a tip. The model is a test we publish in full, and its track record shows every result, losers included. Across 11,947 races its top pick has won 24.5% of the time, and backing every one of them at starting price has returned −13.6%.

Your picks against it

The November Meeting has its own free prediction game, You v the AI. You pick one horse in every race at Cheltenham over the three days, and your picks are scored against our model, five AI chatbots and the market favourite, all at the official starting price. Friday's card opens for picks on Thursday afternoon, and each pick stays open until its race is due off.

No money is staked and there are no prizes. The meeting has its own leaderboard, and you need to play two of the three days to be ranked on it. We have set out how it works in You v the AI at Cheltenham.

The going

We are not stating a going description here, because the reports we read on 11 November do not agree. PA's entries report gave the ground as good, good to firm in places when the entries were made. A later report says the course has been watering and that good to soft has come into the description. Cheltenham's own going report is the one to trust, and trainers often decide whether to run once they have seen it.

Racecards and results

The declared fields go up on our Cheltenham racecards on Thursday, with a StableBet Rating beside every runner. Friday's results will be on the November Meeting results page that evening. If you are going, our day out at Cheltenham covers getting there, and the November Meeting guide has the timings for all three days.

Where to bet

• Best odds guaranteed. Prices in small fields can move sharply once the declarations are known. A BOG bookmaker pays the starting price if it is bigger than the price you took.
• Cheltenham offers. Our Cheltenham betting offers page compares what our partners are running for racing at the course, from the November Meeting to the Festival.
• Each-way terms. Small fields pay fewer places each way than the big handicaps on Saturday and Sunday, and the smallest are win only. Our each-way guide has the full table, and the each-way calculator works out the returns.

A bet struck before Thursday's declarations is normally an ante-post bet, so if your horse is not declared you usually lose the stake. Read the terms before you bet early.

Checked on 11 November 2026 against:

• The Jockey Club: Countryside Day, Friday 13 November 2026 (race names, times, gates)
• Sporting Life: Shloer Chase racecard (entries, trainers, ages, official ratings, weights, distance)
• horseracing.net: Shloer Chase runners 2026 (the same seven names, ages, time since each horse last ran)
• Sidmouth Herald (PA): report on the Shloer Chase entries (the horses entered, the going at that stage, the novices' races)
• The Comet (PA): Gidleigh Park likely to swerve the Paddy Power Gold Cup
• Racing Post: L'Eau Du Sud wins the 2025 Shloer Chase and Sky Sports' report of the same race
• Sky Sports: Jonbon wins the 2024 Shloer Chase

The race's first running, its grade history and its earlier winners come from our research record for the race, built from Wikipedia and the reports above. Entry counts for the other five races are from the Racing Post and Sporting Life cards published on 8 November. Every run since 1 June and the 14-day trainer figures come from our own results files, and the meeting records from our race database, which starts in October 2023. Official ratings come from Sporting Life's card alone and the fields change at the declarations.