Who Is in Contention to Be Jumps Horse of The Season?

The 2024/25 National Hunt season is now past the halfway point, and with so many major meetings still to come, including the Cheltenham Festival, Grand National and Dublin Racing Festival, there are many opportunities for the best horses to shine.

Here is a look at who is in contention to end the campaign as the Jumps horse of the season.

Galopin des Champs On Course for Third Gold Cup Triumph

Dual Gold Cup winner Galopin Des Champs will head to the Cheltenham Festival in March bidding for a third straight success in the Blue Riband event in the sport. Only one horse in the last 50 years has achieved that feat, with Best Mate completing his hat-trick in 2004.

Willie Mullins’ chaser blew his rivals away in the Grade One Savills Chase during the festive period. He won the race for the second straight year for the Irish trainer, prevailing by just over seven lengths. It was a much better performance from the nine-year-old than he showed on his seasonal reappearance in the John Durkan Memorial Chase.

Galopin Des Champs will take the same route ahead of Cheltenham as he did last season, featuring in the Irish Gold Cup first. As of January 21st, he is the 4/5 favourite in the bet on horse racing market for the 2025 Cheltenham Gold Cup. Victory in the day four feature could see him lead the race to be crowned the horse of the season.

Jonbon Dominates 2m Chase Division

All three of Jonbon’s victories this season have come at Grade Two or higher level. He has dominated the 2m division in the UK, winning the Shloer Chase (Cheltenham), Tingle Creek Chase (Sandown) and Clarence House Chase (Ascot).

In the Tingle Creek at Sandown, he hit the front of the field after the fourth fence from home at the Surrey-based racecourse, and he soon stretched away from his rivals. It was his second win in the race, becoming the first horse since Kauto Star in 2006 to defend his crown.

Jonbon produced an even better performance on his latest run in the Clarence House Chase. Nicky Henderson’s runner took on the Queen Mother Champion Chase winner, Energumene, but the Irish horse was no match for the favourite. It was his fifth straight victory on the track.

The J.P McManus-owned chaser will bid for his first Queen Mother Champion Chase success this season. He missed the meeting due to an injury in 2024 but he now heads to the Festival in great form ahead of that championship contest.

Constitution Hill Back to His Best 

Racing fans were delighted to see former Champion Hurdle winner Constitution Hill return to action in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton on Boxing Day. Henderson’s star hurdler was back to his best in the Grade One race, beating Irish mare Lossiemouth comfortably.

After a series of setbacks that delayed his opening run of the season, Henderson and Constitution Hill’s regular jockey Nick de Boinville will have been relieved that their horse passed his latest test.

Constitution Hill has been tipped by many horse racing pundits to finish his career as one of the best 2m hurdlers in history. A second Champion Hurdle in March will help him towards that position. With Aintree’s Grand National Meeting or the Punchestown Festival likely for the unbeaten hurdler, he has plenty of time to end the campaign as the most impressive horse this season.

Some Exciting Novices on Both Sides of the Irish Sea

The novice races at the 2025 Cheltenham Festival are set to be very exciting this year, as several first-season hurdlers and chasers head there with big reputations. In the novice hurdles division, The New Lion is one of these. Trained by Dan Skelton, he won the Grade One Challow Hurdle at the end of 2024. His next appearance will be in the Turners Novices’ Hurdle.

In Ireland, Salvator Mundi has won both of his two hurdles starts comfortably. He broke his maiden at the first time attempt at Tipperary, scoring by 62 lengths. Mullins’ runner then stepped up in class to land the Grade Two Moscow Flyer Hurdle at Punchestown. That latest performance suggests he goes into the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle as a big player.

The final fixture on the 2024/25 Jumps calendar is the Celebration Chase Day at Sandown on the 26th of April.