Mambonumberfive

The story of Mambonumberfive is really the story of Kempton Park and Class 1 racing. He had his first career win there in February 2025, then went back and won a second top-level race at the same track in late December. Two wins from two visits to Kempton, both at the highest level — some horses spend entire careers trying to win one race like that. His trainer Ben Pauling, whose yard in the Gloucestershire village of Naunton has sent out 89 winners this season alone, has spoken openly about pointing him towards the Arkle Chase at Cheltenham, one of the most prestigious two-mile chasing races in the calendar. After the Kempton win in December, Pauling said the performance essentially confirmed that ambition: "I think you probably have to treat him as an Arkle horse after that."

There is a catch, though, and it is an interesting one. Pauling himself has said the horse is not naturally a two-miler — he is a proper galloper rather than a quick one, and the trainer believes wetter, muddier ground will bring out another gear entirely. His recent run at Warwick, when he finished seventh, came on heavy ground where he could not get out of the ground and jumped poorly — uncharacteristic, and something the yard has put firmly down to conditions rather than ability. He has come out of it fine physically, and the trainer is now weighing up whether to step him up in distance rather than run again at two miles.

Ben Jones has ridden him in six of his eight races, winning four of them — that is two in every three rides together, which is a remarkable partnership by any measure. When a jockey knows a horse that well and a trainer has that level of belief in him, the ingredients for a big spring at Cheltenham are clearly there. Whether it is the Arkle or something over a longer distance, Mambonumberfive looks like a horse whose best days are still ahead of him.