Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle
Cheltenham 15:30
(Registered As The Hyde Novices' Hurdle),
£80,000 guaranteed, 4yo plus,
2m 5f 26y, Class 1  
Friday 14th November 2025

1 No Drama This End 5/1
2 Heads Up 7/4F
3 King's Bucks 12/1
9 ran NR: Fountains Blenhein
Distances: 3l, hd, 2¾l Time: 5m 26.37s (slow by 22.37s)

On a day when Storm Claudia did her best to drown the mood at Cheltenham, No Drama This End cut through the murk and gave Paul Nicholls a much-needed lift after a stop-start beginning to the campaign.

The champion trainer has already had to scratch his star hope Caldwell Potter for the season and redraw plans for Kalif Du Berlais after a flat reappearance. So the sight of No Drama This End — last seen chasing home the reopposing Heads Up in the Champion Bumper — travelling sweetly beneath Harry Cobden was a welcome tonic. Cobden’s only quandary seemed to be when to press the button; he waited until after the last and then glided away, three lengths clear of Heads Up, the 7-4 favourite.

Nicholls said of his 5-1 winner: “He’s a real one without a shadow of a doubt. We thought he was, but until they go out and do it on the track you don’t know.

“He has shown us plenty at home and did a beautiful gallop at Newbury the other day. Nico de Boinville rode him that day and was smiling afterwards, he said he loved him.

“We think a lot of him, we’ve given him plenty of time and we’ll give him plenty of time, but there’s no doubt he’s a proper one.

“We need horses like this and he’ll go straight to the Challow (at Newbury) now. He’s a proper big chasing horse who we will look after and will go chasing next year.

“We’ve a lot to look forward to with him and he’s always had something special about him all along – we just needed to see it on track which we did today.

“Running in the Champion Bumper didn’t do him any harm and he’d be right up there with all the horses I’ve won the Challow with in the past.”

Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle
(Registered As The Hyde Novices' Hurdle) (Grade 2)
£55,000 guaranteed, 4yo plus, 2m 5f 26y, Class 1
9 ran
Going: Soft

POS. DIST HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY SP
1     No Drama This End 5 11-2 Paul Nicholls Harry Cobden 5/1
2 3 Heads Up 5 11-2 John C McConnell Mark McDonagh 7/4F
3 hd King's Bucks 5 11-2 Henry De Bromhead Darragh O'Keeffe 12/1
4 2¾ Destination Dubai 6 11-2 David Killahena & Graeme McPherson Kielan Woods 7/1
5 1¼ Moneygarrow 5 11-2 Dan Skelton Tristan Durrell 9/1
6 39 Great Fleet 5 11-2 Dan Skelton Harry Skelton 11/2
7 1¼ Imperfectlyperfect 5 11-2 Lucinda Russell & Michael Scudamore Derek Fox 28/1
8 15 Intosomethinggood 4 11-1 Nigel & Willy Twiston-Davies Sam Twiston-Davies 16/1
PU Welonlyhavedone 5 11-2 Gavin Cromwell Keith Donoghue 12/1
NR 2 Fountains Blenhein 6 11-2 Anthony Honeyball NON RUNNER

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