Freezing weather meant Chepstow’s meeting on Sunday was abandoned but the thought of winning a Cheltenham Gold Cup with Coral Welsh Grand National hero Haiti Couleurs will probably keep Rebecca Curtis warm for a while.
In winning the best and most valuable race run at Chepstow and in Wales, the gelding has cemented his status as a major contender for the Grand National at Aintree on April 11 and can be backed at 14-1 for that, but Curtis intends to run him at the Cheltenham Festival a month before in the Gold Cup, for which Haiti Couleurs is also widely available at 14-1.
The trainer reports the nine-year-old to have recovered well from the Welsh National and another outing prior to March is planned.
One option is the Cotswold Chase at Cheltenham on January 24, although that might come too soon, so Newbury’s Denman Chase two weeks later is expected to be the slot for the talented bay, who last term won the National Hunt Chase at the festival before securing Irish Grand National glory.
Tenter Le Tout, who landed the Grade 2 Finale Juvenile Hurdle at Chepstow on Welsh National day for rookie trainer Chester Williams, is, however, set for an appearance at Cheltenham this month in a trial for the Triumph Hurdle at the track in March.
It is unlikely Monmouthshire trainer Thomas Faulkner will be represented at the festival, but he did have a winner to celebrate last week, when First Greyed made it four victories from nine starts in 2025 at Wolverhampton. That haul helped Faulkner, whose yard is in Devauden, register a respectable 15 winners on the flat last year, while he also enjoyed a sole success over jumps.
Owner-breeder Robert Bailey (photographed) was more of a flat fan and sadly died at the age of 81 recently. His funeral takes place on Saturday at 10.15am at St Tewdric’s Church in Mathern.
He owned horses for the best part of 30 years, winning a total of 125 races, most of them when jointly owned with his wife Nina. Their silks of red with a black star, white sleeves and cap are familiar sights at their local tracks, Chepstow and Bath. Their horses have won eleven races at Chepstow.
Many of them have the word Glamorous in their name, due to Robert’s success with the mare Glamorous Spirit. He bought her in 2009 and she won three times that season and twice the year after, including a Group 3 at The Curragh. This enhanced her worth as a broodmare and after selling her Robert started buying some of her stock and that of her dam Glamorous Air – at first to race, and then to breed from them.
Some will be surprised to learn his first winner, in 1996, was a hurdler called Tony’s Mist, trained by Milton Bradley. It was his Robert’s only winner over jumps. He came to prefer speedy flat-racers who could run often and over several seasons.
78 of his winners were trained by Ron Harris near Chepstow. Noverre To Go supplied eight of those wins at courses as varied as York and Brighton. Judge ‘n Jury won four times while in Robert’s ownership and in 2010 was beaten only five lengths in the Prix de l’Abbaye.
Just Glamorous gave connections some glamorous days out by winning a Listed race at Ascot in 2017 and, the year before, a Chantilly Group 3. In second place was Marsha, who turned the tables three weeks later by winning the Abbaye. Fast and durable, Just Glamorous raced for ten seasons, his tenth and final win coming in 2023 when trained by Chris Mason. He sprang a 22/1 surprise at Salisbury, making all the running
Their last winner was Glamorous Breeze at Lingfield on 4 September. With that effort the consistent seven-year-old proved she was as good as ever. It’s to be hoped that she and the other Glamorouses will continue to enjoy success on the track.
The next meeting at Chepstow is Tuesday 27th January.
