BetMGM Fighting Fifth Hurdle
Grade 1, Newcastle 14:00
£115,000 guaranteed, 4yo plus,
1m 7f 216y, Class 1  
Saturday 29th November 2025

1 Golden Ace 22/1
2 Anzadam 11/4
3 Nemean Lion 40/1
5 ran Distances: 1½l, nk
Time: 4m 1.03s (slow by 2.03s)

Golden Ace swept through late to claim a dramatic renewal, on a day when both Constitution Hill and The New Lion came to grief and the script was torn up almost as soon as it had begun.

Constitution Hill, the Nicky Henderson-trained star sent off the 6-4 favourite, was supposed to steady the ship after the disappointments of last spring. Nico de Boinville looked confident enough as they set off, the pair having impressed in a recent racecourse gallop. A neat leap at the first hinted at normal service resumed—yet at the second it all unravelled, Constitution Hill getting his stride hopelessly wrong and coming down, the crowd momentarily silenced. The drama only compounded when The New Lion, having assumed control of matters, did exactly the same at the penultimate flight.

And so it was left to Golden Ace, as it had been in last season’s Champion Hurdle, to pick up the pieces. She did so with relish. Sweeping past Anzadam and Nemean Lion, she powered home under Lorcan Williams at 22-1, a performance full of purpose and no small measure of heart.

“I’m glad everyone is up OK, who could believe Constitution Hill coming down again?” said Scott, scarcely able to believe the shape the race had taken. “She’s run a brilliant race, I’m so pleased we’ve got her back from Wetherby (beaten in a Listed race at the start of the month). We were really flummoxed because I thought we had her so well then.

“We were beaten nearly a mile from home and when we got her back and scoped her we found she had a bit of mucus so I guess that was the reason why, it was a bit of a shocker.

“We then scoped her again on the Tuesday and there was nothing there, we changed the way we travelled her up and stayed the night. Whether the travelling stressed her out I don’t know, but she was good today.”

Scott continued, sounding half-amused, half-bewildered by his stable’s knack for upsetting the applecart: “We must be everybody’s nemesis! I’m just so glad after Wetherby as I could not get my head around it.

“Her jumping was very good today and we’ve beaten Anzadam whatever. I still don’t think we’re quite there, so there’s hopefully more to come.

“I couldn’t come up with a reason not to run, I didn’t want to! It was either here or Kempton and I thought this would suit her better.”

The bookmakers reacted sharply: Golden Ace was trimmed to 14-1 from 25-1 by Paddy Power for her Champion Hurdle defence in March. Lossiemouth heads the market at 7-4, with The New Lion at 9-2 and Constitution Hill eased to 10-1.

“Two Grade Ones now, that’s not bad,” Scott added, already plotting the route ahead. “I think we’ll go for the International next before the Champion Hurdle.”

Williams, buoyed and breathless after steering the mare back to winning ways, was quick to credit the team behind her.

“I was aware of Constitution Hill early. I jumped off wide because she actually favours going a bit right when she jumps and every time Constitution Hill has hit the deck he’s always fallen to his right.

“I thought if he makes any early mistakes I’ll just be out of it on the straight, when he did (fall) I was lucky to be out of his way.

“Harry (Skelton on The New Lion) really upped it jumping the last down the back, which I was aware of, but I walked the course and I knew how far from home that was.

“She was a completely different mare to Wetherby so fair play to Jeremy Scott for getting her back to where she was. She jumped fantastic and in all fairness, Paul (Townend on Anzadam) probably helped in joining us and pushing us to the line.

“I’m just delighted.

“She’s the flag bearer for us at the minute, she wasn’t herself at Wetherby so it’s a fantastic training performance from the team back home to get her back to this form.”

In the end, it was a race that unravelled in every direction but one—the mare who stayed on her feet and stayed on best, turning chaos into opportunity and reminding everyone, in the most Richard Hoiles of ways, that jump racing never fails to find new ways to astonish.

BetMGM Fighting Fifth Hurdle
£115,000 guaranteed, 4yo plus, 1m 7f 216y, Class 1
5 ran
Going: Good to Soft, Soft in places

POS. DIST HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY SP
1    Golden Ace 7 11-3 Jeremy Scott Lorcan Williams 22/1
2 1½ Anzadam 5 11-10 W P Mullins Paul Townend 11/4
3 nk Nemean Lion 8 11-10 Kerry Lee Conor O'Farrell 40/1
FELL Constitution Hill 8 11-10 Nicky Henderson Nico de Boinville 6/4F
FELL The New Lion 6 11-10 Dan Skelton Harry Skelton 15/8