Who are the Highest-Rated Horses Heading Into the 2022-23 National Hunt Season?

We’re approaching the start of the new National Hunt campaign, which will go under starter’s orders in October.

The summer hiatus can be a long time in the development of racehorses, and those that have previously thrived over fences can regress while others that have had a nondescript hurdling career can suddenly be unleashed over the larger obstacles.

Of course, the best horses will simply carry on where they left off last season by winning major races, and that’s why the likes of Cheltenham Gold Cup champion A Plus Tard and Ryanair Chase winner Allaho are so fancied in the online betting odds for the Betfair Chase and King George VI Chase respectively.

Early season runs can be the undoing of the sport’s greats, however, with firmer ground and warmer temperatures somewhat levelling the playing field. That’s why it tends to pay to listen to betting experts in these situations, as they will have an excellent handle on which horses perform best at different points in the calendar year.

Of course, the official ratings are also a fantastic guide to the best racehorses in the business, and it will be interesting to see which of the highest-rated hurdlers and chasers live up to their billing in 2022/23 and which regress to also-ran status.

For now though, here’s a look at the horses which the analysts believe are the finest in training right now.

Shishkin

What a curious way for Shishkin’s ten-race unbeaten streak to come to an end. Nicky Henderson’s chaser was absolutely nowhere in the Champion Chase at Cheltenham, and in the end was so far adrift of the leaders he was pulled up by Nico de Boinville.

How will he fare in 2022/23? There’s no doubt Shiskin is a top chaser over two miles, but that trudge around Prestbury Park will live long in the minds of his backers.

Energumene

Shishkin’s conqueror in the Champion Chase, Energumene, furthered his credentials at the expense of his higher-rated opposition.

Two explosive victories in the Irish Arkle and Ryanair Novice Chase at Punchestown confirmed the French horse as one to watch in 2021, and he carried that form into the first half of 2022 too.

Energumene may have gone down by a length to Shishkin in the Clarence House Chase, but he returned with comprehensive wins in both Cheltenham and Punchestown’s version of the Champion Chase – the rivalry between this duo should hopefully go up another notch n 2022/23.

Chacun Pour Soi

Although highly-rated by those in the know, Chacun Pour Soi has something of the ‘bridesmaid, never the bride’ about him.

Like Shishkin, he tasted defeat to Energumene in both editions of the Champion Chase last season – unseating rider Paul Mullins at Cheltenham before finishing a valiant second at Punchestown.

That meant that Chacun Pour Soi won just once in the entirety of 2021/22… connections will be hoping for more this season.

Allaho

A tilt at a Ryanair Chase hat-trick might be the ultimate goal for Willie Mullins in 2022/23, but an eye-catching run over three miles at Punchestown at the end of last season may just suggest that there’s bigger fish to fry for Allaho.

The eight-year-old prevailed in the Punchestown Gold Cup ahead of the likes of Galvin, Minella Indo and Clan Des Obeaux, and that hints that an entry into the money-spinning Cheltenham Gold Cup might just be in the offing.

A Plus Tard

Although not unbeatable, as a career record of six wins in 14 starts attests, the reigning Gold Cup champion continues to thrive in the mud.

So A Plus Tard might not be one to back in the early going of the season – indeed, he’s only won once prior to Christmas before, but you can be sure this high-class three-miler will be a major contender for the National Hunt’s top prizes… particularly if Rachael Blackmore remains on board.

Which of these five highly-rated stars will fire and which will flop in 2022/23?

Related horse racing questions:

  1. Before Frankel, which was the highest-rated horse in the history of Timeform?
  2. Which horse is, or was, the highest-rated Champion Hurdler of the Timeform era?
  3. Did Jim Crowley used to be a National Hunt jockey?
  4. Was Bob Davies the last Welshman to win the National Hunt Jockeys’ Championship?