There wasn’t much of note to report on the track as 2025 turned to 2026. Ushering in the new year with a blitz of freezing temperatures, the great British weather played havoc with the fixture list.
Away from the limited racing action, a pair of sombre notes signalled the end of one year and the beginning of the next. Following the late December death of Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum, January began with the news that legendary trainer Ian Balding had passed away. Looking to the future, a certain Seven Barrows hurdling star was once again in the news, as Nicky Henderson hinted at his plans for Constitution Hill.
Death of Derby-Winning Owner Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum
In a year already peppered with loss, racing received another blow in the final days of December. The man behind the famous yellow silks with the black spots, Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum, died at the age of 74 on 29th December.
Renowned for his racing knowledge, the owner/breeder was admired for his enthusiasm and love of the sport. Having his first runners in Britain in 1992, Sheikh Mohammed Obaid went on to taste success on the biggest stages thanks to the exploits of Group 1 stars Postponed, Defoe, Rosallion, and 1998 Epsom Derby hero High-Rise.
Sheikh Mohammed Obaid was the cousin of the Ruler of Dubai and Godolphin founder Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and played a significant role in the success of the Boys in Blue. It was a breeding between the great Dubai Millennium and Sheikh Mohammed Obaid’s mare Zomaradah that produced Dubawi. A Group 1 winner at the track, Dubawi progressed to become one of the most influential sires of the 21st century, and the foundation upon which much of Godolphin’s success is built.
RIP Ian Balding: Trainer of Mill Reef Passes Away
Friday, 2nd January brought sad news from Park House Stables in Kingsclere, with the announcement that the Epsom Derby and Cheltenham Festival-winning trainer Ian Balding had passed away at 87 years of age.
A Cheltenham Festival winner as a jockey, Balding started training from Park House in 1964. Six years later, he began to plot the career of one of the all-time greats. Having found only fellow superstar Brigadier Gerard too good in the 2,000 Guineas, Mill Reef went on to win the Epsom Derby, the Coral-Eclipse, the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe during a glittering 1971 campaign. There were other Kingsclere stars over the years, including sprint sensation Lochsong and six Group winners for Queen Elizabeth II, but Mill Reef remains the greatest of them all.
Upon his retirement in 2002, Balding had trained 1,755 winners under rules, including Crystal Spirit in the Sun Alliance Novices’ Hurdle at the 1991 Cheltenham Festival. A member of a racing and sporting dynasty, he was the brother of fellow trainer Toby Balding, the father of current Park House incumbent Andrew Balding, and TV presenter Clare Balding.
Exeter and Wincanton among the Casualties as Cold Snap Bites
January is always a precarious time of year for racing fixtures, with the ever-present spectre of torrential rain and/or freezing temperatures placing the programme under threat. The latter of those hazards reared its frosty head at the turn of the year, with an arctic blast sending temperatures plummeting across the UK.
The headline Saturday afternoon card from Sandown was among those to survive, allowing Nocte Volatus to claim the feature Unibet Veterans’ Handicap Chase. Other meetings weren’t so fortunate. A total of six fixtures were abandoned over the first four days of the new year, with frozen ground creating un-raceable conditions at Exeter, Fakenham, Chepstow, Plumpton, Wincanton, and Newcastle.
04/01/2026 FIXTURE ABANDONED
Due to frozen, unraceable sections of the track and sub-zero temperatures overnight, the inspection has been failed and tomorrow’s meeting is abandoned.
Ticket holders will be contacted within 48 hours regarding transfers or refunds. pic.twitter.com/BymM5fLz5w
— Chepstow Racecourse (@Chepstow_Racing) January 3, 2026
With Graded class action scheduled to take place at Kempton and Warwick on Saturday, 10th January, racing fans are hoping for a rise in the mercury levels.
Constitution Hill to Return on the Flat?
Having ended the 2024/25 season under the cloud of successive falls at Cheltenham and Aintree, and an abject display at Punchestown, the well-being of Constitution Hill was one of racing’s biggest stories. The prospect of the Nicky Henderson star rediscovering his peak form en route to Sprinter Sacre-esque Cheltenham Festival redemption ranked high on the 2026 wish list.
Unfortunately, that fairytale appeared to end on the opening pages of the first chapter, as the horse’s floundering jumping ability returned at the second flight in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle. Providing an exclamation point to last season’s misfortunes, that Newcastle tumble led some to question whether we would see the eight-time Grade 1 winner at the track again.
With the dust having settled on the Fighting Fifth disappointment, it appears that Henderson has not given up the dream of a second Champion Hurdle. Having recovered from a minor knee ailment, Constitution Hill’s next assignment may see the prospect of falling at a hurdle removed entirely. Outlining potential plans for his star, Henderson stated:
“There is still a chance he will run in the Champion Hurdle, but I’d love to run him on the Flat in early February. If anyone wants to put on a Flat mile and a half maiden, then please let us know.”
