Paddy Power Gold Cup 2026 Preview: Entries, Weights and Trends

The race drew 41 entries, and the Racing Post card gives a maximum field of 20, so at least half of them will not run. The card gives this year's exact trip as 2m4f44y. Dan SkeltonAdd Dan Skelton to the Horse Tracker has seven entries, Paul NichollsAdd Paul Nicholls to the Horse Tracker and Nigel and Willy Twiston-DaviesAdd Nigel & Willy Twiston-Davies to the Horse Tracker three each, and four are trained in Ireland: two each for Henry de BromheadAdd Henry de Bromhead to the Horse Tracker and Paul NolanAdd Paul Nolan to the Horse Tracker.

Gidleigh ParkAdd Gidleigh Park to the Horse Tracker, MatataAdd Matata to the Horse Tracker and JagwarAdd Jagwar to the Horse Tracker share top weight of 12st on an official rating of 155. ScorseseAdd Scorsese to the Horse Tracker is bottom on 9st 7lb, a rating of 120. In a handicap a pound of rating is a pound of weight, so the 35lb between them is the whole spread of ability the handicapper has to even out.

Horse	Age	Weight	Rating	Trainer
Gidleigh Park	8	12-0	155	Harry Fry
Matata	8	12-0	155	Nigel & Willy Twiston-Davies
Jagwar	7	12-0	155	Oliver Greenall & Josh Guerriero
Master Chewy	9	11-11	152	Nigel & Willy Twiston-Davies
Madara	7	11-11	152	Dan Skelton
Twinjets	9	11-10	151	Paul Nicholls
Meetmebythesea	6	11-10	151	Ben Pauling
Johnnywho	9	11-9	150	Jonjo & A J O'Neill
Regent's Stroll	7	11-8	149	Paul Nicholls
Blueking d'Oroux	7	11-7	148	Dan Skelton
Riskintheground	9	11-5	146	Dan Skelton
Matterhorn	8	11-2	143	Dan Skelton
July Flower	7	11-1	142	Henry de Bromhead
Bad	7	11-1	142	Ben Pauling
Mahons Glory	10	11-1	142	Dylan Cunha
Teddy Blue	8	11-0	141	Harry Derham
Quebecois	7	11-0	141	Paul Nicholls
Vincenzo	8	11-0	141	Sam Thomas
Asian Master	9	10-13	140	David Pipe
Issam	8	10-13	140	Tom Symonds
Ifiwerearichman	8	10-12	139	Paul Nolan
O'Moore Park	9	10-11	138	Martin Keighley
Guard Your Dreams	10	10-11	138	Nigel & Willy Twiston-Davies
Zurich	7	10-11	138	Henry de Bromhead
Juby Ball	7	10-10	137	Mrs C Williams
Norn Iron	8	10-10	137	Harry Derham
Bluey	7	10-9	136	Emma Lavelle
Release The Beast	7	10-8	135	Paul Nolan
Torneo	6	10-7	134	Jamie Snowden
Dunkerque	6	not shown	not shown	Jennie Candlish
Classic Maestro	8	10-4	131	Jennie Candlish
Rodney	7	10-4	131	Kerry Lee
Southoftheborder	8	10-4	131	Henrietta Knight
Here Comes Georgie	8	10-3	130	Dan Skelton
Kingston Narcissus	7	10-3	130	Dan Skelton
Noble Park	7	10-3	130	Nicky Henderson
Passing Diamond	6	10-1	128	Ben Haslam
Kykorock	6	9-11	124	Dan Skelton
Moon d'Orange	8	9-10	123	Christian Williams
Just Over Land	7	9-8	121	Sam Thomas
Scorsese	8	9-7	120	Neil Mulholland

Weights and ratings as shown on the Racing Post entry card on 7 November; the 41 names also match Sporting Life's entry list. Dunkerque's weight and rating did not show on the card when we read it, so we have left them blank rather than guess.

The long handicap

The race's minimum weight is 10st 2lb. Five horses are weighted below it: Passing DiamondAdd Passing Diamond to the Horse Tracker, KykorockAdd Kykorock to the Horse Tracker, Moon d'OrangeAdd Moon d'Orange to the Horse Tracker, Just Over LandAdd Just Over Land to the Horse Tracker and ScorseseAdd Scorsese to the Horse Tracker. If any of them runs, it carries 10st 2lb, more than its rating says it should. That is "running from out of the handicap", and the weights each horse actually carries are fixed at Thursday's declarations.

Form figures below come from the Racing Post card and read right to left, so the last figure is the most recent run. A dash marks the break between seasons.

Meetmebythesea (Ben Pauling)

MeetmebytheseaAdd Meetmebythesea to the Horse Tracker won the Jack Richards Novices' Limited Handicap Chase at the Cheltenham Festival on 12 March, ridden by Ben JonesAdd Ben Jones to the Horse Tracker, according to The Jockey Club and At The Races. He is six, rated 151 and set to carry 11st 10lb. His figures are /1161 and he has not run since, so this would be his first start of the season for Ben PaulingAdd Ben Pauling to the Horse Tracker.

Madara (Dan Skelton)

MadaraAdd Madara to the Horse Tracker won the Plate at the Festival on 10 March as the 3/1 favourite, ridden by Harry SkeltonAdd Harry Skelton to the Horse Tracker, over two and a half miles (The Jockey Club's report). He has had one run this season, third of ten in a handicap hurdle at Carlisle on 1 November at 5/1, and is set to carry 11st 11lb off 152, a pound more than Meetmebythesea.

Johnnywho (Jonjo & A J O'Neill)

JohnnywhoAdd Johnnywho to the Horse Tracker won the Ultima Handicap Chase at the Festival on 10 March at 18/1 for Jonjo and A J O'NeillAdd Jonjo & A J O'Neill to the Horse Tracker, ridden by Richie McLernonAdd Richie McLernon to the Horse Tracker (The Jockey Club). He is rated 150, set to carry 11st 9lb, and has not run since March.

The top weights

JagwarAdd Jagwar to the Horse Tracker, MatataAdd Matata to the Horse Tracker and Gidleigh ParkAdd Gidleigh Park to the Horse Tracker are all on 12st. Harry FryAdd Harry Fry to the Horse Tracker has said Gidleigh Park is more likely to run in a non-handicap race than here, with the Shloer Chase at Cheltenham under consideration, in a PA report carried by The Comet. Matata was in the Old Roan Chase at Aintree on 25 October, which was abandoned with the rest of that day's card, so he has not run yet this season.

Paul Nicholls's three

Paul NichollsAdd Paul Nicholls to the Horse Tracker trained three of the twelve winners from 2014 to 2025. Regent's StrollAdd Regent's Stroll to the Horse Tracker (149, 11st 8lb) has figures of 31232 from last season and has not run since. QuebecoisAdd Quebecois to the Horse Tracker (141, 11st) was second of four at Newton Abbot on 17 October, beaten at 5/4. TwinjetsAdd Twinjets to the Horse Tracker (151) pulled up in the Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby on 31 October.

Recent winners lower down

Our results files show five of the field winning since 1 October. KykorockAdd Kykorock to the Horse Tracker (9st 11lb) won a 2m handicap chase at Worcester on 12 October at 3/1, and Passing DiamondAdd Passing Diamond to the Horse Tracker won at Hexham on 10 October before finishing second of five in a novices' chase here on 23 October. TorneoAdd Torneo to the Horse Tracker (134, 10st 7lb) won a 2m3f handicap chase at Ffos Las on 14 October at 4/1 for Jamie SnowdenAdd Jamie Snowden to the Horse Tracker. O'Moore ParkAdd O'Moore Park to the Horse Tracker (138) won a novices' limited handicap chase over 2m4f on this course on 24 October at 25/1 for Martin KeighleyAdd Martin Keighley to the Horse Tracker. Here Comes GeorgieAdd Here Comes Georgie to the Horse Tracker (130) won a 3m1f handicap chase at the same meeting at 3/1, then finished seventh of 12 at Aintree on 6 November.

Blueking d'OrouxAdd Blueking d'Oroux to the Horse Tracker, the second of Skelton's entries at the top of the weights (148, 11st 7lb), has figures of 21522 from last season and has not run since.

The model's day-before view of the race goes up on Friday afternoon, 13 November, and will be added here beside its public track record. It is a test of the model, not a tip.

Our results files hold every British and Irish result since 1 June 2026. Of the 41 entries, 23 have completed or started a race in them since then, and 18 have not run at all this season. Three of those 18, MatataAdd Matata to the Horse Tracker, BlueyAdd Bluey to the Horse Tracker and Norn IronAdd Norn Iron to the Horse Tracker, were due to run at Aintree on 25 October, when the whole card was abandoned.

Where the entries have already met

• Ffos Las, 14 October, 2m3f handicap chase (8 ran). TorneoAdd Torneo to the Horse Tracker won at 4/1, SouthoftheborderAdd Southoftheborder to the Horse Tracker was second at 11/2, RiskinthegroundAdd Riskintheground to the Horse Tracker sixth at 25/1 and MatterhornAdd Matterhorn to the Horse Tracker seventh at 12/1.
• Wetherby, 31 October, the Charlie Hall Chase (6 ran). Riskintheground was third at 28/1 and TwinjetsAdd Twinjets to the Horse Tracker pulled up.
• Aintree, 6 November, 3m Premier Handicap chase (12 ran). Master ChewyAdd Master Chewy to the Horse Tracker was fourth at 16/1 and Here Comes GeorgieAdd Here Comes Georgie to the Horse Tracker seventh at 5/2.

Six of the field were in the abandoned Old Roan Chase on 25 October: Matata, Master Chewy, Riskintheground, Matterhorn, Teddy BlueAdd Teddy Blue to the Horse Tracker and Bluey.

Trainers in the last 14 days

Jumps runs in Britain and Ireland from 24 October to 6 November, in our results files:

Trainer	Winners	Runners
Dan Skelton	20	100
Paul Nicholls	8	35
Ben Pauling	3	34
Jonjo & A J O'Neill	4	32
Paul Nolan	6	32
Henry de Bromhead	7	31
Nigel & Willy Twiston-Davies	3	29
Harry Derham	4	24
Oliver Greenall & Josh Guerriero	3	22
Jamie Snowden	8	20
Nicky Henderson	3	13
Harry Fry	2	8

Jamie SnowdenAdd Jamie Snowden to the Horse Tracker has the best strike rate of these, 8 from 20, and our race database (from October 2023) shows the same pattern in each of the last three seasons: his strike rate from 22 October to 30 November was higher than his whole-season figure every time. He runs TorneoAdd Torneo to the Horse Tracker here. The samples are small, so read them as background, not as a betting angle.

The StableBet Rating, our pounds figure for each runner (the official rating less 2lb for every length the horse was beaten last time), appears beside every runner on the racecard once the field is declared. In our tests the top-rated horse on it won handicaps more often than the horse with the top official rating, and the market already prices that in.

When the model's view lands

The race is not on a declared card yet, so our model has nothing to rate. Its timetable for Saturday's racing:

• Friday 13 November, 2:10pm: the day-before provisional view, once the field is declared. We will add the model's top-rated runner in this race here, beside its public track record, losers included.
• Saturday 14 November, 5am: the final ratings and fair prices for every British race on the AI Lab's daily card. The race-morning box for this race is on our November Meeting guide, and after the race it shows how that runner finished.

Neither is a tip. The model is a test we publish in full, and the track record shows how it has done.

The going

Cheltenham has not published a going description for this meeting yet. We will add it here, with the date it was given, once the course does, and again after Thursday's declarations. Trainers often decide whether to run once they know the ground, so it shapes who is declared as well as the race itself.

Three trends from our winners record, set against this year's entries. Twelve runnings is a small sample for a 41-horse handicap, and none of these is a reason to back or oppose a horse on its own.

• Age. Every winner from 2014 to 2025 was aged five to nine. Two of this year's entries are older, Mahons GloryAdd Mahons Glory to the Horse Tracker and Guard Your DreamsAdd Guard Your Dreams to the Horse Tracker, both 10. The other 39 fit the band.
• Favourites. Of the ten runnings from 2016 to 2025, only one went to the favourite: Stage StarAdd Stage Star to the Horse Tracker at 4/1 in 2023. The other nine winners started between 5/1 and 25/1, which is what a big handicap usually looks like.
• Trainers. Paul NichollsAdd Paul Nicholls to the Horse Tracker trained three of the twelve winners (Caid Du Berlais, Stage Star and Il Ridoto), more than anyone else, and has three entries this year. Dan SkeltonAdd Dan Skelton to the Horse Tracker, who won it last year with Panic AttackAdd Panic Attack to the Horse Tracker, has seven, the most of any yard.

Panic Attack is not entered this year. The full roll of honour, with jockeys, is on our November Meeting guide.

With 41 entries for a maximum of 20 runners, this will probably be a big field, and in a big handicap the place terms can matter as much as the price.

The standard terms

Under the usual UK each-way terms, a handicap with 16 or more runners pays four places at a quarter of the odds. With 12 to 15 runners it pays three places at a quarter. So if Thursday's declarations leave fewer than 16, one place goes. Our each-way guide sets out the full table.

The sums on a £10 each-way bet

A £5 each-way bet (£10 in total) on a 16/1 shot, at a quarter of the odds:

Finish	Standard terms (4 places)	With a fifth place paid
Wins	£85 win leg + £25 place leg = £110 back	£110 back
2nd, 3rd or 4th	£25 back, £15 profit	£25 back, £15 profit
5th	£10 lost	£25 back, £15 profit
Unplaced	£10 lost	£10 lost

The place leg pays a quarter of 16/1, which is 4/1, so £5 returns £25. The only line that changes with an extra place is fifth, and it turns a £10 loss into a £15 profit.

What to check

• How many places your bookmaker pays. Some pay five or six on the big Cheltenham handicaps. The terms are set race by race, so check on the day.
• The fraction. An extra place at a fifth of the odds is not the same deal as four places at a quarter. On the bet above, a fifth of 16/1 is 16/5, and £5 returns £21 rather than £25.
• Non-runners. A late withdrawal can cut the field below 16 after you have bet. Bookmakers settle on the number that actually run, unless their terms say otherwise.

Our Lab ran the same horses and races at different place terms in each-way at the big handicaps. Use the each-way calculator to check your own stake.

The Paddy Power Gold Cup is the 2:20pm at Cheltenham on Saturday 14 November, the fourth of seven races. Cheltenham's own page for the day, which it calls Super Saturday, lists gates opening at 10am, the first race at 12:35pm and the last at 4pm. We will add the TV channel once it is confirmed. Our day out at Cheltenham covers getting there.

Where to bet

Three things count for more than the size of a welcome offer in a race like this:

• Extra places. Our Cheltenham extra places page compares which bookmakers pay extra places on Cheltenham's big handicaps and which say they do not. It is written for the Festival in March, so check each bookmaker's terms for this race on the day.
• Best odds guaranteed. Big-field handicap prices move a lot in the last hour. 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.

Betting before the declarations

A bet struck before Thursday is normally an ante-post bet, and if your horse is not declared you usually lose the stake. Some bookmakers offer non-runner no bet in race week, so read the terms before you bet early. With 41 entries for 20 places, plenty of today's names will not run.

Checked on 7 November 2026 against:

• Racing Post: Paddy Power Gold Cup entry card (entries, weights, official ratings, ages, form figures, maximum field, minimum weight, trip, off time)
• Sporting Life: the full Paddy Power Gold Cup entry list, 27 October (the 41 names, ages and trainers)
• horseracing.net: Paddy Power Gold Cup runners 2026 (the 41 names and trainers)
• The Jockey Club: Super Saturday, 14 November 2026 (race times, gates)
• The Jockey Club: Madara wins the Plate, 10 March 2026
• The Jockey Club: Johnnywho wins the Ultima, 10 March 2026
• At The Races: Meetmebythesea wins the Jack Richards, 12 March 2026
• The Comet (PA): Gidleigh Park likely to swerve the Paddy Power Gold Cup

Past winners and starting prices come from our research record for the race, built from Wikipedia and Sporting Life result pages. Runs since 1 June and the 14-day trainer figures come from our own results files, and the Jamie Snowden pattern from our race database, which starts in October 2023. Weights and ratings come from the Racing Post card alone and change at the declarations.