Thursday, February 26, 2026 – Richard Phillips Racing

Two runners tomorrow with Agent Argylle heading to Newbury for the 3.35pm in the two and a half mile National Hunt beginners hurdle and Swift Jet in Doncaster at 3.57pm in the three mile handicap hurdle.

Agent Argylle (pictured) is an Irish point-to-point winner and ran well on his bumper debut when not beaten far at Wetherby. He then showed he was an enduring fighter in the making on his hurdles debut at Doncaster. Hopefully the ground at Newbury will be better tomorrow as he won his point-to-point on good ground. This son of Mahler has seen a lot of growth since we bought him and he will undoubtedly go from strength to strength after a summer break and I look forward to him showing promise in the meantime, in what looks to be a very exciting match. Finn Lambert takes the ride.

Swift Jet returns to hurdling after falling during his two pursuits. Both falls followed a very clean and excellent jump so it’s a bit of a mystery why he made these mistakes, but he has run well on the course in the past and Harry Bannister is taking the ride.

The Last Drop was a pleasant fourth in the handicap hurdle at Plumpton on Monday and would benefit from some better terrain but proved the step up in the trip was appropriate. We will look for something similar for her in a few weeks as the forecast is drier in March. She is undoubtedly handicapped to be competitive when all conditions permit and we look forward to rewarding her owner’s patience with a win this spring.

Congratulations to Molly Armytage who not only rode her first point-to-point winner on Sunday but also her first winner on her first ride under the rules in a valuable Hunter Chase at Leicester on Tuesday. Having known Molly all her life, it was great to see her achieve these two well-deserved victories. Her Leicester winner Enqarde used our gallop here at Adlestrop and we are all so pleased that Celia Plunket trained him to win. There are certainly similarities in Molly’s style to her Aunt Gee and we look forward to many more successes.

The decision not to run Constitution Hill over hurdles again is undoubtedly a wise decision for the sport. Whatever one’s opinion, it is up to the manager and owner to make that decision and Nicky Henderson and Michael Buckley have undoubtedly taken all considerations into account. With his spectacular win at Southwell, we can now look forward to this talented nine-year-old having a flat campaign and hopefully bringing many more moments of joy to his connections and many fans. He will be parading at Cheltenham and I am sure the reception he will receive will be as loud and cheerful as any winner that week.