Key Points
- This horse caught my attention at Cheltenham’s Showcase Meeting in October last year
- His Dublin Racing Festival victory showed his stamina and he should relish the extra mile at Cheltenham
- Trainer Emmet Mullins has a perfect record in this race with one winner from one runner!
I have another antepost selection for you today and again I'm targeting the 2026 Cheltenham Festival. This horse on the opening day in the National Hunt Challenge Cup Novices’ Handicap Chase. I fancied this horse a few races back, before he won at the Dublin Racing Festival, and while he will carry a bigger weight here, it has only made me sweeter on his chances.
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Betting advice
- Tuesday 10 March 2026 - National Hunt Challenge Cup Novices’ Handicap Chase -
Backmersackme
@ 8/1 (4 places) -
1pt each way
bet365 offers 8/1 in the antepost market!
At the time of writing you can generally get 7/1 on Backmersackme in the NRNB antepost markets. But I’d rather take the
best horse racing odds
at bet365 where you can get 8/1. That’s with four places on offer at ¼ odds in accordance with industry standard terms. bet365 currently has a fantastic offer for new customers too. If you deposit and
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This race has been dominated by the Mullins family!
The last eight renewals of the National Hunt Challenge Cup Novices’ Handicap Chase have seen the Mullins family come out on top in half of them. Willie Mullins has won three, and Emmet Mullins was victorious in another. Those wins include three of the last four renewals, and I think Emmet can win the race again with Backmersackme.
Backmersackme caught my attention at Cheltenham’s Showcase Meeting in October
On 25 October 2025, Backmersackme ran at The Showcase Meeting at Cheltenham. I tipped him to my Discord members and
put him up in my Lucky 15
that day on here. It’s worth a quick read, as it explains my reasons for selecting him that day, and I won’t be covering the same ground again in this article.
Backmersackme raced in touch with the leaders, but put in a slow jump at the 15th (six out) and subsequently lost his position. He was tapped for toe as they approached the hill before three out, but responded to pressure from Sean Bowen, especially when Sean switched him to the inside after that fence. He began to make eye-catching headway, and turning in, he was within a few lengths of the leaders. He stayed on stronger than any of them, despite an untidy jump at the last, and passed several rivals going up the hill, only to get beaten at the line by three lengths.
Without that frustrating slow jump at the sixth last, Backmersackme would have been closer, and he may even have won. He looked as though he was ready to keep on going as they raced up the hill, and really showed his stamina. He certainly left me with the impression that he was a winner in waiting off his mark of 124, so the National Hunt Novices’ Handicap Chase looks an obvious target for him..
Backmersackme went to the Paddy Power Chase at Leopardstown over Christmas, but a mistake at the first saw his chances go out the window. So I was very interested to see him run in the Grade 3 O’Driscolls Irish Whisky Leopardstown Handicap Chase (Grade 3) over 2m 5.5f on testing ground. Especially as he looked in need of a greater stamina test when he ran at Cheltenham.
The Leopardstown race looked like an inadequate trip and he was 1lb out of the handicap, yet British Champion Jockey Sean Bowen was booked for the ride. The latter suggested that they meant business, and I couldn’t see Sean taking the ride without expecting a successful outcome. It was actually a genius bit of placement. If Backmersackme won, there was a six-figure pot, and a decent prize if he just placed, but it also meant that his potential over longer trips remained undisclosed. Just on the off chance that he won, I couldn’t resist a small bet, and I tipped him to my Discord members.
As it turned out, his stamina won him the race on the day, as he outstayed them all in testing conditions at a lovely 14/1price. After the race Sean Bowen openly admitted that Backmersackme was flat out through the early stages, but when settled into a rhythm, and switched to the inside, the further he went, the better he ran. With the way he stayed on, it looks like he will relish the marathon trip that is the National Hunt Challenge Cup Novices’ Handicap Chase.
Trainer Emmet Mullins has a perfect record in the race with one winner from one runner!
Emmet Mullins has only ever sent one runner to the National Hunt Chase and that was in 2024. That dates back to when it was a Grade 2 contest for Amateur Jockeys only, rather than the Novices’ Handicap that it is today. Emmet’s runner was Corbetts Cross, owned by J P McManus, who won the race readily by 17 lengths under Derek O’Connor. So Emmet has a perfect record in the race to date.
I’m gutted I didn’t get Backmersackme on our side prior to his Dublin Racing Festival win, especially when he was already on my radar for the race. However, he did surprise me by having the pace to stay in touch, albeit helped by the testing conditions at that meeting. Meanwhile, showing he had the pace and ability to win over 2m 5f, opened up other options.
Backmersackme has been entered for the Ultima Handicap Chase over 3m 1f, , but my understanding is that the National Hunt Challenge Cup Novices’ Handicap Chase is where he will be heading. I think this is the right call, as the Ultima Handicap Chase can be run at a ferocious gallop on the Old Course, and he could be left lacking pace, especially on faster ground conditions. Over the 3m 6f trip, I think he’ll get into a lovely rhythm and will have the stamina to finish the race off powerfully, and hopefully in front!
Can Emmet Mullins win this race again?
Whilst he has been well found in the market at 8/1, I think the case for Backmersackme is exceptional. If you replay his Showcase Meeting run from October, you’ll see he looks perfect for this race, and the fact that he has course form is a huge bonus too. I’m sure connections were devastated that he couldn’t get up that day, although his Dublin Racing Festival win surely made up for it.
The National Hunt Challenge Cup Novices’ Handicap Chase is run over 3m 6f, which should suit him better than the 2m 5f at the DRF, and I think we will see the best of Backmersackme at Cheltenham, despite his increased handicap mark. Not forgetting that Emmet Mullins has won this race previously, albeit under different rules, but I believe he can maintain his perfect record.
In terms of negatives, Backmersackme must prove he can stay 3m 6f, but as is often the case in this race, most others will be in the same position. On the flip side, he’s completely unexposed over a marathon trip, leaving him open to a huge amount of improvement. The only other negative is that Olly Murphy plans to run Wade Out in the race, which would mean Sean Bowen will almost certainly be riding him, as the retained jockey for that stable. Nevertheless, I’m sure Emmet will find an equally good alternative.
Overall, I think Backmersackme has an exceptional chance in the National Hunt Challenge Cup Novices’ Handicap Chase, and it’s worth taking the 8/1 available now, especially as connections seem set on this race. Haiti Couleurs and Transmission went off as 7/2 joint favourites in this race last year, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Backmersackme at a similar price on the day. With a rock solid profile and negatives that don’t really worry me, I’m playing a full 1pt each way here.
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