Turners Mersey Novices' Hurdle |
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| Grade 1, Aintree 13:55 £100,000 guaranteed, 4yo plus, 2m 4f, Class 1  |
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1 Bossman Jack 11/4JF
2 Soldier Reeves 15/2
3 Ballyfad 11/4JF
12 ran NR: Came From Nowhere
Distances: 5½l, shd, 1l Time: 4m 56.78s (slow by 10.78s)
THE RAIN IS COMING DOWN 🌧️
— ITV Racing (@itvracing) April 11, 2026
But Bossman Jack doesn't care! He toughs it out in the Turners Mersey Novices' Hurdle 🥇#ITVRacing | @harryskelton89 | @DSkeltonRacing pic.twitter.com/4oB13HzPaE
There are performances that confirm promise, and others that suggest something more substantial may lie beneath the surface. Bossman Jack’s victory belonged firmly in the latter category, a display that combined raw ability with the sense that further progress is still to come.
Well supported in the market and sent off a joint-favourite, Dan Skelton’s six-year-old travelled with authority throughout under Harry Skelton, always holding a prominent position without ever appearing under pressure. The race began to take shape turning for home, and although a mistake at the final flight might have unsettled a less assured individual, it proved little more than a momentary interruption. Regaining his stride almost immediately, he powered clear to win by five and a half lengths.
Behind him, Soldier Reeves emerged with considerable credit, staying on strongly to secure second, narrowly ahead of Ballyfad, but the focus remained firmly on the winner and the manner of his success.
For Skelton, it capped a remarkable week, adding to earlier Grade One victories and reinforcing the impression of a yard operating at full momentum as the season draws to a close.
Bossman Jack’s Cheltenham effort had already hinted at his potential, his finishing position not entirely reflecting the strength of his performance after a costly mistake at the final flight. Here, with that experience behind him, he appeared a more complete proposition.
“Although he has not been racing that long he has always looked quite good. The mistake at the last at Cheltenham probably cost him second.
“I’m not sure we would have beaten the winner, but it did cost him second.
“There is no doubt that the lack of big race experience counted against him last time out.
“He has a child’s brain, but a big engine. He didn’t jump the best on the way around there, but he has got a big engine and it is all ahead of him. He could be very good.
“I trust him to do all the right things as he wouldn’t know how to be bad. He is just a child and hopefully it all just gets easier mentally for him and that he understands it a bit better and his jumping becomes more reliable.
“He could go a long way this horse. I wouldn’t call him Gold Cup class as there is a long way to go, but I think he could be really good.
“I felt like we had him in winning form today.
“I said to Tristan really get him (Soldier Reeves) rolling turning in. I know he has only just turned five, but he will stay all day.
“I think he has a big future ahead of him as well. He is one that you probably stay over hurdles with next season.
“Even though he has had a hardish season he was never going to be over the top as he wouldn’t know how to be over the top. He just wants to run.”
There is a theme running through that assessment — of a horse still learning, still developing, yet already capable of delivering at the highest level. For Bossman Jack, this was not simply a victory, but a statement of potential, one that suggests his current achievements may yet prove a prelude rather than a peak.
Mersey Novices' Hurdle (Grade 1)
£100,000 guaranteed, 4yo plus, 2m 4f, Class 1
12 ran
Going: Good to Soft
