Johnny's Jury

That Exeter win in January 2026 was the starting point, and it told you something straight away: the horse he beat by nine and a half lengths went on to win easily at Wincanton shortly after. In other words, Johnny's Jury was already defeating horses of real quality, on just his second career outing, while still looking raw and green around the edges. Jamie Snowden, who trains him out of Lambourn, was quick to point out that Johnny's Jury had never even raced in point-to-points — the usual finishing school for young jumpers — which makes the improvement he showed between his first and second runs all the more remarkable.

The Cheltenham win on 13 March is the one that will really catch people's attention. Cheltenham is the sport's most famous venue, and winning there is never straightforward. The race apparently got messy at the start, leaving Johnny's Jury further back than anyone wanted, but he travelled smoothly through the field, jumped cleanly, and got the job done. Snowden was also full of praise for jockey Gavin Sheehan in the saddle. Notably, that race was run over three miles — a significantly longer trip than his previous races — and he handled it without any apparent difficulty.

Snowden's yard has been in excellent form this season, sending out 82 winners, so Johnny's Jury is operating in a well-oiled setup with plenty of confidence behind it. The horse has won two of his three races at Class 4 level — a solid, competitive tier — and the trainer has already mentioned the possibility of aiming him at the EBF Final, a prestigious end-of-season target for horses at this stage of their career. Coming from a yard that was highly recommended to Snowden by former trainer Nicky Henderson, and bought at the sales by agent Tom Malone, this is a horse with people who know what they are doing in his corner. Whether he can keep the streak going will be the question everyone connected to him is now asking.