Harry Redknapp aiming for Cheltenham Gold Cup glory with The Jukebox Man

It might be Friday the 13^th but if The Jukebox Man wins the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup it could be a very lucky day for British racing.

Always prone to preoccupying about how it is perceived by the wider world, the prospect of Harry Redknapp owning the winner of the most important race of all is one to have the sport’s administrators hugging themselves.

The former Spurs and West Ham manager – the ‘Appy ‘Arry’ of popular repute – represents just the sort of image that breaks through to a mainstream audience.

Redknapp is, after all, a former ‘King of the Jungle’ winner and the sort of salt-of-earth cockney that confounds any stereotypical image of racing.

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For a sport here so uncertain about its future, at odds with itself in governance terms, and now dealing with the fallout from Wednesday’s festival racism row, there’s the prospect of a timely and invaluable PR boost.

All that The Jukebox Man has to do is go and win and cue up an emotional Redknapp in front of the cameras: if only it was such a straightforward task.

Maybe the French outsider Gold Tweet can be dismissed as a no-hoper. Firefox, L’Homme Presse and even the veteran 10-time Grade One winner Envoi Allen would be shock winners. But there are seven camps that will realistically fancy their chances in an unusually open Gold Cup.

That’s a marketing boost, too, for a race second only to the Grand National in terms of betting turnover.

On top of all that, if the much talked about Anglo-Irish rivalry has taken on a rather unsettling edge this week, the Gold Cup presents an opportunity for that matchup to be seen in a much more positive light.

Mark Walsh wins the 2025 Gold Cup on Inothewayurthinkin at Cheltenham. Photograph: Tom Maher/Inpho

The home team hasn’t won since Native River’s victory in 2018. But five chances against a handful of Irish raiders contain enough realistic of bridging that long gap. That one of them, Haiti Couleurs, is Welsh will no doubt be forgotten if he wins!

Inothewayurthinkin came in under the radar to spoil hat-trick dreams for Galopin Des Champs a year ago. This time, in form terms, Gavin Cromwell’s star is coming into the Gold Cup at barely treetop height.

One okay run in November’s Durkan was followed by a disaster of an effort at Christmas. His race at last month’s Dublin Racing Festival ended with an exhausted looking fall at the last when well beaten behind Fact To File.

It’s true that his work has reportedly improved since. He’s also going to sport first-time cheek pieces that have already worked the oracle this week with Lossiemouth in the Champion Hurdle. But it still requires a massive leap of faith to see Inothewayurthinkin backing up.

Gaelic Warrior has wound up the sole Willie Mullins hope. He’s a mercurial talent, that at his best might be good enough. His best is hard to predict though and it’s rare that Gold Cups go entirely to plan. The softer the going the better is Spillane’s Tower’s chance.

Jango Baie emerged worst of the exciting four-way King George finish at Christmas but finished in a way that persuaded many he’s crying out for a tougher stamina test. The same can’t be said for Grey Dawning. All of which leaves The Jukebox Man, who ultimately landed that King George.

Gaelic Warrior is Willie Mullins's only runner in the Gold Cup. Photograph: Morgan Treacy/Inpho

The Ben Pauling-trained star has a lot more than just popular support on his side. Pauling is convinced a test of stamina is what the horse requires. His jumping is usually sound, and he’s got a progressive profile that suggests he has yet to reach his peak. That peak will probably be necessary to win, but it could cue football-type celebrations.

Mullins saddled a famous 1,518-1 five-timer on the festival’s final day four years ago. He sends 24 runners into the fray this time with nine of them lining up in the opening JCB Triumph Hurdle alone. Lossiemouth won this in 2023 and another filly, Selma de Vary, could be the solution now, in the process underlining how big a miss the absent Narciso Has is.

Doctor Steinberg tops Mullins’s four contenders for the Albert Bartlett Novice Hurdle in which Gordon Elliott also has a quartet. Both Thedeviluno and The Passing Wife will be other Irish contenders although the ex-Polish Hipop de Loire, rated 106 on the flat, could relish this stamina test at a decent price.

Mullins and Dan Skelton have won 10 of the last 11 William Hill County Hurdles between them. It’s an astonishing stat for such a competitive handicap and Karbau looks a major player for the Irishman. Skelton’s number one hope Sinnatra is among the bottom-weights and looks a serious player too.

Dinoblue is a ratings standout as she bids to win the Paddy Power Mares’ Chase again while if there’s a class act lurking in the concluding Martin Pipe Hurdle it might be Kel Histoire.