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Harry Derham Stable Tour for the 2025-26 Jumps season

By Racing TV

Last Updated: Sun 26 Oct 2025

By Graham Clark

Derham has a powerful squad for the months ahead (focusonracing.com)

Harry Derham has made steady progress since joining the training ranks in the 2022-23 campaign, but a look at his team for this season suggests the best is yet to come.

What threatened to be a frustrating campaign, after his gallop was washed away by Storm Bert in November, ultimately ended on a much brighter note for the Boxford handler.

A new personal best domestic total of 57 winners was 13 up on the season before while his final prize-money haul in Britain of £647,865 was also a new milestone for the former jockey.

Success was not just limited to British shores with Washington landing a Listed handicap hurdle at Fairyhouse in December and the progressive Ascending Lark striking at the same level at Punchestown in April to leave Derham dreaming of brighter days ahead.

And with an improvement in the level of individual that resides at Upper Farm Stables it is easy to see why Derham is confident he can take the next step up the ladder this season.

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Derham said: “Last season was frustrating through to the spring, and everyone knows why that was with the situation we had with the gallop, but the spring was really good and we had lots of winners through February and March.

“We didn’t have too many runners in April as the ground dried up, but it was great to finish the season with a winner at the Punchestown Festival so it felt in the end it was salvaged.

“Entering the new year I thought it was going to be a bit of a nightmare, but in the end it finished up pretty good.

“I suppose the feeling heading into this season is one of optimism. We haven’t increased our numbers, but we have increased our quality.

“You are obviously looking for horses to take you to the next level, but I feel we are still trying to establish ourselves and if we can keep showing progression then I will be happy.”

ASCENDING LARK

“We have had horses like Brentford Hope and Givemefive that have done well in handicaps, but have not been quite able to take that step and I suppose the next one on that line is Ascending Lark. She is six from six over hurdles, and is a Punchestown Festival winner.

“The question is can she move up a grade into Graded races. She is obviously a very good mare and the plan is to start in the Warfield at Ascot in January, which is a Grade Two, with the intention of that telling us is she a Mares’ Hurdle horse or just a good handicapper.

“I’ve not been able to get her to the track this side of Christmas for the past two seasons so I’m not going to try this season, but she would have an away day before that race.

“For whatever reason she is better after Christmas and she just takes a little while to get ready. She was with her half-owner until the middle of September and she came back looking fantastic.

“You went to Ireland not quite knowing what to expect. She won some uncompetitive races over here, but we thought she was well handicapped.

“We were trying to work towards Fairyhouse before Punchestown, but she got sick after Ludlow and I couldn’t quite get her ready for Fairyhouse, and I had to push her quite hard to get her to Punchestown. Those days are what you aspire to achieve.

“She has loads of pace for two miles, but the Mares’ Hurdle is over two and a half miles. I wouldn’t be worried about her staying that trip. She would be our biggest hope for the season.”

AVIEMORE

“It was one of those things at Aintree at the end of last season when we ran him in the Grade One. He had won two races and it was a case of where do you take him. We just rolled the dice and the ground was too quick, and he wasn’t quite good enough.

“He disappointed me at Chepstow. Paul (O’Brien) thought he needed the run, but I was hoping he would run very well. I think he is handicapped to win a nice handicap somewhere.

“I think he will appreciate softer ground, but I’m not quite sure where he goes next.

“He has had plenty of racing on the Flat, while he a tough horse, so he won’t mind those big handicaps.”

BRENTFORD HOPE

“I had him entered over fences at Uttoxeter, but he just had a little abscess in his foot the night before. To be honest I think it would have been too quick to run him anyway.

“He is in good nick. He is not getting younger, or easier to train, and the body is starting to creak a little bit. We are still thinking of trying fences, and if not we will go back into handicap hurdles. He is at the stage where he owes them absolutely nothing.

“He has been a lovely horse for them. We will try chasing, but he needs soft ground. He has schooled over fences, and although he has not been spectacular, he has been fine.

“The thing is with him he will either take to it, or he won’t, and it will be pretty clear cut, but the great thing about him is that if doesn’t like it he will look after himself and we will go back over hurdles.

"We will be really disciplined though and until the ground is soft we won’t run him.”

CASUAL OBSERVER

“He is another that will go novice chasing this season. He missed the spring, but he likes soft ground. He jumps fences well and I think he will end up staying well.

“I’ve got in the back of my mind the novices’ handicap chase over three miles at Uttoxeter on Midlands Grand National day is the type of thing I will be working back from. He loves deep ground.”

CAVE BRIDGE

“He won nicely at Carlisle, despite jumping terribly. I was a bit embarrassed by his jumping as he had schooled well at home. Paul (O’Brien) said he took a bit of pulling up, which you always like to see, and in a better race, with a lead, he will be a better horse.

“He could go to the Charlie Hall meeting at Wetherby as there is a novices’ hurdle over two miles up there. The owner and I have The French Furze up at Newcastle in the back of our mind.

"Whether he will stay two miles six furlong this season I’m not sure. He will want nicer ground as opposed to deep ground.”

CLONDAW PARK

“We got this one from the Cheltenham Festival Sale. She is a Walk In The Park mare and I think she is very nice. We’ve not decided which route we will go with her.

“She bolted up in a point-to-point in February for Michael Goff and she is well worth following this season.”

CRISTAL D’ESTRUVAL

“He is another that we got from the Cheltenham Festival Sale and is another that won his point-to-point before that.

“He shapes like a good individual. I suspect we will start him of over two and a half miles, but he will stay further than that.”

DARGIANNINI

“He has been fabulous for his owners. He will go straight to the Coral Gold Cup meeting at Newbury now as there is a handicap hurdle for him there over two and a half miles.

“It was great for him to win at Uttoxeter the other day as he has simply been a wonderful horse for us.”

DRAMATIC ENCORE

“I think she has improved and the plan is to go to the Paul & Richard Barber Memorial Mares’ Handicap Hurdle at Wincanton. I would be quite sweet on her.

“She was second on her last start at Doncaster, but she had enough by then so we put her away.

“I think she has progressed and she is better than her mark. I’m looking forward to running her and I think she is in good form.”

Watch: Harry Derham's favourite Cheltenham Festival memories

FILIBUSTERIING

“The ground went a bit quick for him at Aintree, but I didn’t think there was anything to lose. I want to get a bit more experience into him in novice races, but he is ready to run and he could go to Cheltenham on Saturday. I have in the back of my mind that he can be a nice Saturday handicap hurdler.

“Whether he is a Challenger Series horse, or a little bit better, I don’t know, but we are yet to see the best of him. He is more settled this season. I have in my mind that the handicap hurdle over two miles at Windsor might be for him as he likes cut in the ground.”

GALLIVANTED

“He is a juvenile that Meg (Nicholls) got from the July Sale at Tattersalls from the yard of Tom Clover. He won at Kempton Park on the all-weather on his last start. He has since been gelded, but he won’t run until around Christmas time.

"We like what we have seen with him jumping and hopefully he can be a nice juvenile hurdler.”

IGNORE THE DOOR

“He had four point-to-point starts before joining us and I was pleased with him at Worcester the other day. He jumped well and he is a proper old fashioned staying type of horse for the future.”

JACKIE HOBBS

“She is in great form and I’m very pleased with her. We just felt the ground went lively enough in the Grade Two bumper at Aintree as she didn’t quite let herself down. She will go novice hurdling and she could start at Newbury on November 6th in a mares novices’ hurdle.

“I hope that she can make up into a Listed mare. She schools well, but she needs to school on grass. Her work is good, and it always was, but I would like to think she is a nice mare, and she will stay further than two miles. She could end up in that Listed mares race at Haydock Park near Christmas time over two miles and three furlongs.

“My early season targets are Newbury on November 6th and then back there on Coral Gold Cup day. She will cope with soft ground and will stay two and a half miles.”

JACKPOT CAUVELIERE

“He is a horse that we will go staying novice hurdling this season. He is another Irish point-to-point winner. He looks to be quite smart from what we have seen so far and has jumped well enough at home.”

JASMINE BLISS

“She had a wind operation about three weeks ago. She will go chasing and that will be after Christmas. She is a hard horse to get fit.

“Her wind wasn’t fantastic last season, and Noel (Fehily) wasn’t pleased with it when she came back in. She is a good jumper.

“I think the ground went dry in the Grade Two at Newbury, and she was carrying top weight, but she wasn’t good enough.

“She had a good season, but as a result she gave better handicapped mares a lot of weight and at the end of the day she wasn’t quite up to it.”

JASMINE D’AIRY

“It took me a while to find the key to her, but she won well at Plumpton and she is a novice until December 1st. I would like to make use of that if I can.

“She is a strong travelling mare, who wasn’t quite getting home. We got some more work into her in the spring, and she did then get home.

“She is not going to be quite ready for another three weeks as she came back a bit later. She is a free going mare that jumps very well.

"She could be another one that runs in that Listed mares novices’ hurdle at the Coral Gold Cup meeting.”

JEM’S LILLY

“She has had a couple of bumper runs in Ireland. She finished second on her debut at Punchestown then ninth at Leopardstown behind one of Joseph O’Brien’s.

“I think she will be a nice mare and she has schooled very well since joining us.”

JULIO COOLIO

“She is a half-sister to Ascending Lark and Romeo Coolio. She is a four-year-old by Crystal Ocean that is yet to run. I suspect she will run in bumpers this season, but I’ve not quite decided.

"Hopefully, if she is as good as her relatives she should be useful.”

JUS DE CITRON

“He had a setback and that is why he couldn’t run in the spring. He will be out after Christmas and the plan is to go chasing this season.

“He has missed a bit of time, but the plan was to switch to fences this season. He is rated one hundred and seventeen which he is well capable of winning off his mark.”

KARMA POLICE

“He finished second at Fontwell on his debut. It was a good run down there and on another day he might have won.

“He is a particularly good jumper and he will go novice hurdling. He won’t be ready until December time, but he wants proper cut in the ground. He jumps very well.”

KATIE’S MELODY

“I think she will stay very well. She won in a point-to-point then she was second on her rules debut in a bumper at Tipperary.

“She will be aimed at those mares’ novice hurdles over a longer trip. She will start in a month’s time.”

Flashback: we visited Derham soon after he began training

KIWI RUSH

“He is a lovely horse that is owned by the golfers and he will now go novice hurdling. He will probably start at Ascot in late November. He jumps really well and I think he is a stayer. He is a horse I’m very much looking forward to.

“They guys were away playing golf so they didn’t mind where he went last season. They looked the right races up at Kelso and we nearly won the final up there as well. Where he will end up I don’t know, but he might be an EBF Final type.”

KORKORAN

“I actually think he is a really nice horse. He was sent off favourite on his debut for us at Exeter, and we fancied him, but he ran no sort of race. He came back with grade four gastric ulcers. I checked him 10 days after as nothing came to light and I couldn’t understand it, then we discovered the ulcers. He will go staying novice hurdling this season.

“He is about three weeks off a run and hopefully he will develop into a nice hurdler this season.”

KLUB DE REVE

“Talk The Talk recently franked his Newbury bumper form when winning at Limerick at the weekend. He will probably start off on November 6th at Newbury.

“I think he will end up wanting two and a half miles. He is another horse that could be an EBF type. I like him and he is a quality horse.”

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LARIO

“He will go novice chasing this season and I’m convinced we still haven’t seen the best of him. He is an enormously frustrating horse, but he is capable and I’m hopeful that chasing is the making of him.”

LASKO DES OBEAUX

“He is a Bathyrhon four-year-old that was second in his only point-to-point last season. We got him up at the Aintree Sale at the Grand National meeting.

“He jumps particularly well at home and he will be joining our novice hurdle team this season.”

LE FRIMEURE

“He won his Irish point-to-point for the Simon Munir and Isaac Souede team and he joined us this summer. I’ve got two for them and it is fantastic that they have come on board with us this season. Hopefully, this one can do well in novice hurdles for them.”

MADAME LUNA

“It is hard to know how good she is. She has won two out of two, and she is not penalised for those mares' novice races, so she will start off in a mares' novice hurdle, and we will just see where that takes us.

“She has a handicap mark of one hundred and nine, which is attractive, but her owners want her to run in novice hurdles so that is where she will start. She could go to Huntingdon in the middle of November. She is not far off being ready to start.

“It is hard to know where her ceiling is as she won impressively on her two starts last season. She will be better with a bit of pace in front of her and she has matured.”

MAITRE EN SCIENCE

“He was incredibly disappointing last season as I was very sweet on him, and I couldn’t get my head around it at all. He ran a much better race on his comeback at Chepstow and that has given me much more encouragement, but he needs to build on that now.

“If he can build on that he could be a nice handicap hurdler and one we look at the Challenger Series with. He is a better horse than what we saw last season and hopefully the run at Chepstow is a sign of things to come.”

MILITARY ALLIANCE

“He won a small maiden hurdle at Hereford in the spring and he is just about ready to start and he will start in a novice hurdle and carry a penalty. That will make life tougher, but he will be one for Class Three and Four handicap hurdles. He will win his races at that sort of level throughout the season as he jumps well and tries hard.”

MOSSY FEN ROAD

“He is a smart horse. He wants soft ground and we are looking at getting him going over hurdles at Lingfield on November 27th. I hope he can end up at the spring festivals.

“We wanted to go hurdling last season, but he got to Hereford in the autumn and he got colic. By the time he was ready to run it was February so we didn’t go hurdling.

“He is a smart horse and I’m really looking forward to getting him going over hurdles this season.”

ONE HORSE TOWN

“He was very good at Kempton Park on Sunday and he will now either go to the Wensleydale Hurdle or Cheltenham for the Grade Two there in November.

"He has done everything right so far. He hasn’t beaten anything in his three starts, but he couldn’t have done it any better. That will tell us a bit more about what we do after one of those races.

“Hopefully he can keep on progressing.”

PYFFO

“He got a little setback after Musselburgh. The plan is to go to Newbury on November 6th for the Pertemps qualifier there. He is a tough horse, but he is not a great jumper so he won’t jump fences. You are looking at all those three mile handicap hurdles with him.

“At the moment I have it in my head that he is better on a flat track, but I’m not sure why, however he stays very well.

“You would love to end up in a Pertemps with him, but that is a long way off, and we didn’t get there last season, so let’s get to Newbury and then make a plan.”

QUEENS GAMBLE

“She is back in. She had a torrid summer as she had two big colic surgeries, but she is fine now. She is in really good form and I would like to go to that Listed mares’ novices’ chase at Bangor with her.

“She is obviously a very good mare, but we had an enormously frustrating season with her last season. She has schooled well and she will go to Worcester on Thursday to jump some fences.

“I’m looking forward to her going chasing. She has got a huge engine, but I don’t personally feel we have seen the best of her on the racecourse yet.

“The best I had her last season was when she went to Leopardstown, and if I can get her back to that form, she will win a big race.”

SLUGGER

“He sustained an injury after the race at Aintree and he is only now just back with us. It will be day-by-day with him, however he is fine at the moment.

“He was amazingly progressive last season and I was very proud of him, but he won’t be out until Christmas time.

“He settled from the season before, and he grew up, and as a consequence he found himself well-treated. Even his fourth in the Morebattle Hurdle at Kelso was a superb run.

“We wanted to go chasing this season. Whether we do that after Christmas I don’t know. He is not an old horse so do you aim for the William Hill Handicap Hurdle at Newbury instead.

“He might still go chasing, but by that time he has lost half of the season, but at the moment we are not thinking about that.

“We are thinking about a position to get him racing and that is our focus at the moment. He is a young horse and there is no reason he can’t keep improving.”

SPREADSHEET GURU

“He finished second in an Ayr bumper for Andrew Slattery and he has been sent to me this season.

“I thought he ran very well up there, but he was beaten by one of Willie’s (Mullins), which everyone was in the spring.

“He will go novice hurdling this season and he could be useful.”

TEDDY BLUE

“He did well in the end. The way I see a horse like him is that he is probably handicapped to his best. He will either start at Ascot in a two mile handicap chase on November 1st or Wetherby the day before. I think he will stay a little bit further, but there is no enormous plan this side of Christmas.

"The question is will he be running in those top level handicaps or the level just below that. I suspect he will be slightly better in a lower grade carrying more weight, but at the same time the guys that own are very sporting.

"We will try and get him in the form he was in the spring, but I’m particularly pleased with him. If he can win one of those nice handicaps then it is job done.”

THE BURREN MAN

“He was runner-up in an Irish point-to-point to a horse called the The Wyoming Line that I believe has gone to Willie Mullins. He is one that will be aimed at a maiden hurdle in around a month or so.”

THE TWO HARRYS

“He is a nice horse, but he has just taken a bit to get right. He is about three weeks off a run and he will start in a maiden hurdle. He ran well on his debut over hurdles at Lingfield last season, but we couldn’t get him right afterwards, however he is in good shape now.

“He pulled too hard in one of his bumper runs at Warwick, but his other runs have been encouraging. We just need to get him sound and racing.”

VIYANNI

“He will go straight to the Gerry Feilden at Newbury. I’m really excited about him and I think he is well handicapped.

“Whether he wants further than two miles in time, I’m sure he will, but we will start him off in the Gerry Feilden. I could see him running in a Lanzarote Hurdle or something like that.

“I think he is a Pertemps horse for the season after as I think that would be a big ask for a five-year-old. I’m not going to over race him this year, but I think he is a good horse.”

WASHINGTON

“He has won three out of his five starts for us and the plan is to go to Ascot on November 1st. I felt it was a good performance at Chepstow the other day.

“We are sort of in the business that everything is a bonus with him. He has just done so well for us. He is a lovely, tough, honest horse.

“His record fresh is amazing. Ascot is quite quick after Chepstow, but we will just keep him fresh at home and not over training him. It will be drier ground at Ascot, which he will really love. We are not going to run him on soft ground again and we will be disciplined.”

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