Pauling assembling a strong supporting cast for Cheltenham.
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At The Races | Monday 23rd February 2026

Ben Pauling is taking his strongest ever team to the Cheltenham Festival next month, as alongside Gold Cup hope The Jukebox Man plenty of others heading there from his nearby Naunton base with live chances.


Mares’ Chase hopeful Diva Luna is looking to put a setback before an intended outing in the Scilly Isles Chase behind her, while Handstands bounced back to something like his best at Windsor.


With the likes of No Questions Asked, Personal Ambition, Pic Roc, Vanderpoel and novice hurdlers such as Taurus Bay and Mondoui’boy all in the mix, Pauling is set for a busy week.

“Diva Luna whacked a joint the week before the Scilly Isles,” said Pauling. “We chucked her in the spa for 10 days and she’s just come alive and goes there with a good chance, though I will need to get some proper work into her.

“She had two and a half weeks off but went for a gallop at Warwick on Friday after which, as you would expect, she took a good blow. She needs a couple more bits of good work and that should put her right for the mares’ chase. She has a good record at Cheltenham.

​”No Questions Asked won the Lightning Novices’ Chase at Windsor, his first run over two miles since switching to fences.

“He’s had a brilliant season, but it was a very odd race at Windsor where they went so fast and he came and got up on the line,” said Pauling.

“It depends on the mood of the owners whether we go for the Arkle, the Johnny Henderson (Grand Annual), for which he’s short, or the Plate. But I’m sweet on him and he’s in very good nick.
“How that form will work out, I don’t know, but the way this horse is ridden you could nick a place in a big one.”

Handstands gave Protektorat a race last time out before fading into third and options remain open for him.
“Handstands has come alive since the Fleur De Lys,” said Pauling.

“We went to the Betfair where he travelled and jumped and at the last down the back I thought Grey Dawning had a fight on his hands, but in the straight he lugged left. Tim Radford (owner) was adamant we should get his wind checked so we lasered his soft palate.

“He worked in Lambourn, after which I was keen to go the the Denman and Tim to the Windsor race. Jumping two out he had Protektorat under pressure.

“He worked well at Warwick on Friday night and has come out of it like a bull in a china shop. If the Ryanair cut up a bit he would be competitive and I might even put a pair of cheekpieces on.

“I think he’s a three-miler and will stay as far as we want him to stay. The positive in the Ryanair option is that he could jump and travel in a small field.
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“I’m sure he will be near the top of the weights in the Ultima, but I could be swayed. Let’s see.”

Mambonumberfive had been a revelation over fences until running no sort of race in the Kingmaker at Warwick behind Steel Ally.

“Obviously we were all disappointed with Warwick,” said Pauling. “He’d been so progressive earlier in the season and I blame myself for running him too many times as a young horse.

“But he came out of it well, and a much wiser man than me told me it was simply that jumping was his asset and while before he was making five lengths at his fences, at Warwick he was losing six lengths at every fence.

“He’s in the Arkle, the Jack Richards, the Grand Annual and the Plate and I don’t know where he’s going, but if he doesn’t run it will be the two-and-a-half-mile race at Aintree.”

One horse who should run in the Grand Annual is Vanderpoel, impressive at Ascot and Sandown the last twice.

“Vanderpoel is really on the up and up and is a horse I like,” said Pauling. “He delighted me at Ascot and Sandown and I think deserves to be towards the head of the market in the Grand Annual.”

Pauling mentioned Pic Roc “should be competitive” in the National Hunt Chase, while Personal Ambition, impressive at Newbury last time out, had the option of the Grand Annual. The Jukebox Kid could miss Cheltenham, though, with Pauling setting his sights on the Irish National at Fairyhouse.

Mondoui’boy went into a lot of notebooks when he bolted up at Ascot recently and he has the option of the Turners Novices’ Hurdle or the Albert Bartlett.

Pauling said: “Ludlow was grand and Ascot was good, but it seems he has just come alive. He’s in the Turners and the Albert Bartlett, but I’m not certain he’s an Albert Bartlett horse. If it ended up being soft on the New course it would concern me. He wouldn’t want a slog.”

Taurus Bay went down narrowly in the gloom at Cheltenham on Trials day, but his attendance is not set in stone.
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“He’s in the Turners, I took him out of the Supreme, he’s very talented but still a shell of a horse. Even though he’s in the Turners I need to see a little bit more condition on him before we roll the dice,” said Pauling.

The Jukebox Man, carrying the colours of former Premier League manager Harry Redknapp, came out on top in an epic renewal of the Ladbrokes King George VI Chase at Kempton Park.

At The Races article


A quality field of eight assembled for the Boxing Day highlight, with the Willie Mullins-trained pair of Gaelic Warrior and Fact To File joined at the head of the betting by Nicky Henderson’s recent Ascot winner Jango Baie.
After tracking the pacesetting Il Est Francais for much of the three-mile journey, Ben Pauling’s The Jukebox Man (7-1) moved to the lead before the final bend under Ben Jones, but the runners were tightly grouped as they straightened up for home.
There were still four in with a chance jumping the final fence, with The Jukebox Man, Gaelic Warrior, Jango Baie and last year’s winner Banbridge right there, but after a stirring battle and tense wait it was The Jukebox Man who was called a nose in front of the Joseph O’Brien-trained Banbridge.
A proud Redknapp – who saw The Jukebox Man win on this card 12 months ago – said: “That’s a dream and to have a horse that good is unbelievable. I love the game, to come here on King George day and just run made me so proud, but to have the winner is special.
“What a race he has run and he jumped unbelievable. When they came to him I thought he was beat and would finish fourth, but he’s come again and the guts the horse has shown is just amazing.”
Pauling, meanwhile, said of the incredible finish: “It really is the moment where you score the winning goal in the cup final with a minute to go. It’s as tight as it gets and I had no idea how we got on. The cameras thought he won, but I didn’t want to believe it until I heard that tannoy.
“It’s something very special and Harry has been an exceptional owner for me and we’ve always had a huge amount of luck. I’ve always had huge faith in this horse and so has Harry as well.
“We’ve won Festival races and we’ve won Grade Ones, but this is the best we’ve achieved to date, this is a pretty good Christmas present.
“I said to Ben going out ‘don’t hate me, but I want you to be as brave as you can be’. Ben got it perfect and went from fence to fence. The only one he got in tight to was the last, to get back up again was incredible as no one was stopping. He’s a character with a big engine and a big heart.
“It’s very exciting for the future. You would be daft not to go to the Gold Cup now and what a race that will be.”
While Pauling has tasted Grade One glory before, this victory represents the highlight of his career so far.
He added: “It’ll take me a few days I think for this to sink in especially after the hangover, but these are the days we want to be a part of.
“It’s our first proper runner in one of these elite chases and to compete would have been great but to win it is amazing.
“From Haydock (comeback after injury sidelined him after Kempton last year) to here has been foot-perfect. He’s not going to be seen again now until Cheltenham, so if I can do the same again, then fingers crossed it will be exciting.”
Jones was in no doubt about the magnitude of the win, rating it the highlight of his riding days to date.
He said: “I thought I’d won a head, but the girls came over and they weren’t sure. I didn’t want to celebrate in case I looked silly and I guess I can retire happy now.
“It’s right up there as the biggest day as my career and it’s got to be the most fun I’ve had out there on the racecourse. The big wins always seem to come in these colours which I don’t mind and it’s brilliant.
“Someone said to me ‘your name is going to be on the list alongside all the other jockeys that have won it’ and to go on there among some of the greats means an awful lot.”

What a perfomance! Congratulations to MAL Bloodstock on Mambonumberfive's victory in the Grade 2 Wayward Lad Novices' Chase at Kempton. 

Fast establishing himself as a real star for future, Mambo made it two from two over fences. Such a brilliant couple of das for the team at home. Dreams do sometimes come true!

Whatsupwithyou and Elliot England provide owner Gill Collier and family the best possible early Christmas present - a win at Ascot!

Walter - you are a legend! Congratulations to all connections and let's enjoy those celebrations!

Vanderpoel and Ben Jones put in an impressive display over two miles at Ascot on Saturday for a seven length win. Congratulations to Lady Dulverton and family - what an exciting result!

Followcato put in a gallant round under Kielan Woods at Ludlow to bring up the hattrick on the day for the BPR team and collect his first win for owners Highclere and The Followers!

Congratulations to all connections - patience rewarded!

Congratulations to the Henley family who have now bred their first hurdle winner! All four foals produced so far by their broodmare, Burgundy Betty, have won their respective Bumpers on debut and it was Betty's Daisy under Kielan Woods that provided this achievement at Ludlow. A brilliant feat!

Jig's Forge made light work of his sole rival at Newbury to win the Beginners' Chase over 2 miles 6 furlongs. Given a great ride by Ben Jones, the duo provided winning connections with all the reason to celebrate especially given the trip over from America for two of his owners! 

Easy Presumption Racing celebrated a mighty fine win at Doncaster courtesy of Lanesborough at Doncaster. The son of Diamond Boy travelled strongly throughout before going clear approaching the last and flying home. 

Huge congratulations to Easy Presumption Racing - we know you'll have enjoyed that one!

'She needs to take on the boys' - Grade 1 aim revealed for Diva Luna after Lady Godiva success

Racing Post article 11th December 2025

Diva Luna may have looked good on paper last season but Ben Pauling believes best is still yet to come as he targets the Grade 1 Scilly Isles for his exciting novice chaser.


The six-year-old, who finished third in the Mares' Novices' Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival last season, is unbeaten over fences this term after securing her second Listed win on the bounce when making all in a field of three in the feature Lady Godiva chase. 


While the mare posted some decent results last season, Pauling was not too impressed with his Grade 2 bumper winner and believes she has arrived this season in her best form, and he now plans to send her into Grade 1 company for the second time in her career at Sandown next month. 


The trainer said: "Last season was a write off from start to finish. I know it looked like she had some good results but we knew what she was capable of, it was nowhere near that, she wasn't herself. We struggled to get her right all of last season and what she did was on raw ability, not because she was in the best of form.


"Now she has a couple of Listed chase wins under her belt, I think she needs to step into some open company and take on the boys, so I'm looking towards the Scilly Isles [on January 31] as her next target.
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"There wasn't a lot of horses in this race today but you couldn't be happier with what she did. She made one mistake, which is no bad thing, she has to learn. She's come back this season totally different and back to her best."

Old Clayesmorian becomes the fourth foal (from four) for dam Burgundy Betty to win his debut bumper! This incredible feat, we think makes Burgundy Betty the only mare in the last twenty years (as far as records go) to have achieved this remarkable achievement. 

The Henley family raced Burgundy Betty themselves before commencing her broodmare career. The first three foals, also trained by Ben for the Henleys, all fillies won their debut and now Old Clayesmorian, has followed in his sisters' footsteps. 

Huge congratulations to all connections. Very special to race one you've bred! 

Huge congratulations to Mr Steve Matthews and the Matthews family for Lady Henrietta's hurdle win at Leicester under Elliot England. Every win is special, but when you've bred and race the horse yourself perhaps a little added fairy dust! 

Enjoy the celebrations!

Kicour La and Ben Jones made it back to back wins at Leicester over the hurdles with their victory in the Novice Hurdle for Momentum Bloodstock. 

Huge congratulations to all connections - what a career start!

It was a long anticipated wait for owners of Starmount to kickstart his rules campaign, but boy did he kick it off in style! A dominating win under Kielan Woods at Wetherby looks to have set this gelding's career up for some loftier targets. 

Huge congratulations to all involved.

Onewaywest was given a bold front running ride from our Conditional Elliot England at Wetherby. These tactics paid off and the duo cruised to the line for their second win within the week. Congratulations to all connections - we hear you enjoyed your celebrations!

Point winner Four Springs made it winning rules debut at Hereford over hurdles. Given a good ride by Harry Cobden for owner Mr T P Radford, we look forward to seeing what's in store for this son of Berkshire.

The first purchase for new syndicate Cotswold Racing was a 3YO Wings of Eagles gelding sourced from the Goffs Arkle Sale. This gelding came on strong recommendation from vendors, the late Michael and wife Ann Cullen. His syndicate have enjoyed their ownership experience immensely, from watching him be broken in, the name process and now a winning racecourse debut in his bumper at Hereford!

Huge congratulations to all involved. A very special win.

The Jukebox Man - a winning comeback

After an early end to last season, The Jukebox Man made his return — and to see him back on the track, jumping and enjoying himself was result enough for the team, his win under Ben Jones, a cherry on top!

Harry Redknapp summed it up perfectly afterwards, saying how relieved and delighted he was just to have him back doing what he loves. Ben Pauling echoed that sentiment, proud simply to see him finish his race so well and remind us all of the talent he has.

Huge thanks to the people who have quietly kept this horse moving forward: Gill, Tom, groom Louise and work rider Ollie, who knows him inside out (plus a few more!)
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Bring on the rest of the season!

ONEWAYWEST gets it done at Warwick!
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A few little niggles along the way, but today he showed exactly what he’s made of — and it was well worth the wait!

A brilliant ride from our Conditional Jockey Elliot England, and huge congratulations to The Parallel Lines who’ve been wonderfully patient with this lad.

He’s finally found the one way we like best… the winning one!

Well done to his work rider George - a deserved win.

Congratulations to new ownership group Momentum Bloodstock with their first runner, first winner!

Kicour La proved tough in the Maiden Hurdle at Leicester to come home in front under Ben Jones. Lots to look forward to with this handsome chap.

Meetmebythesea and old friend Callum Pritchard are brilliant on chase debut at Wetherby.

Congratulations to owner JP McManus and all connections on the win!

Pauling said: "In my wildest dreams, I didn’t expect to see her win like that. That’s a big result and we’ll get her home so we can look to the future."

Racing Post, Liam Headd:
Ben Pauling has always held Diva Luna in the highest regard, but he was still taken aback by the manner of her first victory over fences.


A Grade 2 bumper winner at Aintree last year, the six-year-old mare produced a powerful performance when scoring by 19 lengths in the four-runner Listed mares’ novice chase.


Pauling said: "In my wildest dreams, I didn’t expect to see her win like that. That’s a big result and we’ll get her home so we can look to the future."


Diva Luna, who was cut to 16-1 (from 33) with Paddy Power for the Mares’ Chase at Cheltenham in March, is likely to head to Warwick for a Listed contest on December 11 next.


Pauling said: "I was very nervous today because I wanted to see what I believed she was, but we’ve hopefully seen that. 
"When she finished third in the Mares' Hurdle at Cheltenham she was weak and never right. You doubt yourself because I always thought she was the best filly I’ve trained, and even maybe one of the best horses I’ve trained."
It was the second part of a double for Pauling and jockey Ben Jones, who also struck in the 2m4½f handicap chase with Fine Casting.

Fine Casting made a dominant return to the larger obstacles. Given a great ride by Ben Jones, Shane as he's known at home looked to relish the softer conditions and stormed home, ears pricked for a great win at Bangor. The first of a back to back double!

Congratulations to Mrs Sue Davis, lovely to see you in the winners' enclosure again!

Our Boy Stan's performance was enough to raise a smile on our very soggy team's faces at Ffos Las! The well-bred son of Kapgarde made a brilliant start to his hurdling career with a smart win. 

Congratulations to Forty Winks Racing who have played the long game, purchasing Stan as a foal and are now reaping the rewards!

Whatever a duo can do, Twig & Beau can do better! This pair! Kicking off their season with a fantastic win in the Veteran's Chase at Sandown. 

​Huge congratulations to the Morgan family.