Horse Racing in Manchester has a history that stretches back to the 17th century, and much like Harry Redknapp, the city has long had a passion for the sport.
Redknapp’s history within the industry actually dates back to 1989 and some reports have stated he has up to 28 horses in total, with his stable including big names like The Jukebox Man and Shakem Up’Arry.
His latest entry to the novice ranks, Taurus Bay, is looking like a promising hurdler. Is the young horse good enough to be getting some respect in the novice ranks? Read on to find out.
Taurus Bay
Redknapp purchased the now five-year-old gelding for £155,000, an investment that might pay off now that Cheltenham Festival betting is putting Taurus Bay as a high-regarded prospect.
Foaled from the dam Team Time Tilly from Ireland and the dam’s sire Shantou from the US, he’s had an impressive run of wins so far that make him seem like one to watch.
After an impressive win at Aintree in December 2025 and a narrow, controversial defeat at Cheltenham, people will be even more invested in how he’s going to perform at Cheltenham Festival 2026.
With three hurdle runs resulting in two wins, one second place, and a total of £15,640, Redknapp will be expecting a lot from his horse next month.
Taurus Bay in the Novice Ranks
We’d say that the performances Taurus Bay has shown us so far are impressive, and they definitely demand respect in the novice ranks.
And if it wasn’t for the somewhat controversial second place at the Cheltenham Trials Day card on Saturday in the Grade 2 AIS Novices’ Hurdle.
The race started 30 minutes later than it should have because of difficulties with one part of the course.
The visibility on the day was poor, and Taurus Bay and the Joe Tizzard-trained Kripticjim crossed the finish line looking inseparable, and with the photo finish unsuitable because of the conditions, the judge gave Kripticjim the win based on TV footage.
For the Cheltenham 2026 novices’ hurdle, he’s up against Nicky Henderson-trained Act Of Innocence and Sir Gino, with Act Of Innocence being the marginal favourite to win.
Sir Gino had an excellent debut over fences at Kempton’s Christmas event in 2024, but has since gone to hurdles after Constitution Hill (Sir Gino’s stablemate) suffered a stint of falls that have put his future into question.
So, has he earned respect? So far, he definitely has, so let’s see what happens next month.
Harry Redknapp’s Horses at Cheltenham 2026
It’ll be interesting to see how Taurus Bay does, but all eyes are definitely on The Jukebox Man, Redknapp’s eight-year-old horse scheduled to race in the Gold Cup on Friday, the 13th of March.
His recent King George VI Chase winner is already looking like the biggest story of Cheltenham Festival 2026, but people are interested to see how Taurus Bay performs in the Grade Two AIS Novice Hurdle.
According to Ben Pauling, who trains The Jukebox Man and Taurus Bay, Taurus is a strong and clever horse, but the long two and a half miles will be testing for the young horse who has only raced on two-mile racecourses so far.
That half a mile makes a massive difference, so it’ll be interesting to see how he holds out on the day.
The potential is there for Redknapp and Taurus Bay to dominate the novice ranks at the Cheltenham Racecourse next month in March.
And if it isn’t Taurus Bay, we think he’ll only just miss out on the win. As for The Jukebox Man, let’s see if he lives up to the expectation and gives Redknapp at least one win to go home with.
Featured image credit: Ste_Jones on Flickr

Join the discussion