The first Saturday of the New Year sees the old-timers of the racing world step into the spotlight. As exciting as it is to follow the exploits of the new novices on the scene, the sight of the established stars returning year after year is a large part of what makes the sport so great.
Having entertained racing fans for so long, these lovable old boys deserve their own programme of races and duly get one with the veteran series. While their best days may be behind them, the veteran series provides the double-digit stars with a succession of valuable pots to aim at.
The latest such contest takes place at Sandown on Saturday afternoon. With £100,000 on offer, the Unibet Veterans’ Handicap Chase is the most valuable race on the seven-race card and has attracted a field of familiar names.
Skelton Star Le Milos Tops the Market
This year’s field has amassed 371 appearances under rules between them. However, only one horse has a course and distance win to his name. The sole track and trip winner is the 11-year-old Le Milos, who claimed a handicap for Tim Vaughan back in 2022. Joining Dan Skelton at the end of the 2021/22 season, he has won four of 20 starts since that Sandown success but has yet to find his best form this season.
Having reached a career high rating of 152 ahead of his outing in the 2023 Grand National, he is down to 140 for this test but needs to rediscover some of his old zest. At a general price of 4/1, Le Milos is favourite or joint favouritism in most betting lists.
Gustaivan Flying Following Wind Op
Alongside Le Milos in the market is the Anthony Honeyball-trained Gustaivan. Also 11 years old, this son of Mahler didn’t hit the heights of Le Milos – reaching a peak rating of 137 – but does arrive in much better form than the market leader.
Following a winless 2024/25, Gustaivan was sent for a wind operation over the summer. The early evidence suggests that procedure has inspired an improvement in form. Making his seasonal return in the competitive Badger Beers Handicap Chase, he put the field to the sword with a brilliant frontrunning display. If jumping as well as he did that day, he may be up to defying an 8lb rise in the handicap.
In a strong race for the Honeyball team, Credo also features prominently in the market. He was 12½l adrift of Gustaivan in the Badger Beers Handicap Chase but mastered his stablemate in a veteran’s event at Exeter last season. The 2023 Badger Beers winner, Blackjack Magic, is also in the line-up, but boasts recent form figures consisting entirely of letters rather than numbers.
Copperhead the Oldest of the Old Boys
All horses have their official birthday on the 1st of January each year. However, if judged by the day they were actually born, the Joe Tizzard-trained Copperhead is the oldest runner in the field – edging out fellow 12 year old Numitor by a couple of months.
In addition to being the oldest, Copperhead wasn’t far off the best of these in his pomp. Back in 2020, a youthful Copperhead locked horns with horses of the calibre of Allaho, Minella Indo, and Champ in the RSA Insurance Novices’ Chase at the Cheltenham Festival. Still going strong almost six years on, he boasts career form figures of 1-5-3-2 at this track, and races off the same mark as when claiming a similar event at Market Rasen last season.
Copperhead’s resurgence continues, this time landing the knockout blow in the @unibet Veterans’ Handicap Chase, beating the strong-staying Sam Brown, ridden by @gingell_freddie pic.twitter.com/S3POOAyLb7
— Market Rasen Racecourse (@MarketRasenRace) January 17, 2025
Lacy’s Late Bloomer Arrives at His Peak
For the majority of runners in this field, their peak career rating lies in the past. However, that isn’t the case for Tom Lacy’s late bloomer Nocte Volatus. Having failed to win in nine outings over hurdles, the Midnight Legend gelding proved more amenable as a chaser – albeit developing a frustrating habit of switching between wins and non-completions in his early forays over fences.
Now a veteran of 24 chase outings, he failed to finish for the first time since 2022 when falling in the Grand Sefton Handicap Chase on his seasonal return. However, it’s easy to forgive a mishap over the formidable Grand National fences, and he brushed off that setback in style at Warwick in November. He has been given a new mark of 135 on the back of that 7½l success, which is 1lb higher than his previous career high of 134.
Stan Sheppard & Nocte Volatus land the Warwick Supports British Breeding Veterans’ Handicap Chase pic.twitter.com/QtQwKqm42N
— Warwick Racecourse (@WarwickRaces) November 20, 2025
Does He Know is another to note in an intriguing line-up, with the Kim Bailey & Matt Nicholls runner having mixed it with Bob Olinger, Bravemansgame, and Shiskin in his heyday. Offering something a little different from the standard Saturday feature, the conclusion to this popular series promises to be a cracker.
