Joe O'Shea has daring aspirations for his stable star Barton Snow ahead of the 2026/27 National Hunt season.
"Dream big" is the advice that O'Shea has passed onto the owners of the nine-year-old, following a stellar end to the last campaign that culminated in success at Cheltenham and Aintree.
The Nantwich-based point-to-point trainer readied the son of Snow Sky to land a famous hunter chase double across Britain's two flagship jumps meetings.
O'Shea is relishing the chance to take Barton Snow back to the Cheltenham Festival; this time plotting a daring assault on either the Champion Hurdle or Champion Chase.
“The owners have been on to me and said where do you want to go this season so I said let’s go and win the Champion Hurdle," O'Shea told AtTheRaces. “I’ll win a couple of point-to-points and a Hunter Chase and send him into training 15 days before.
“We would send him to Laura Morgan, win the Champion Hurdle. If he gets beat I’ll have him back for Aintree. And if not the Champion Hurdle then we will go for the Champion Chase – one of those two.”
Despite his heroic exploits earlier in the year, Barton Snow still has a long way to go if he is to step up to open Grade 1 class; evidenced by odds of 100/1 for Champion Hurdle victory and 66/1 to win the Champion Chase.
An attempt at the Champion Hurdle would see him attempt to snatch the crown from superstar mare Lossiemouth, as well as getting the better of likely candidates Mydaddypaddy and King Rasko Grey. The task doesn't get any easier if he is to take his chance in the Champion Chase on the following day either, with last year's winner Il Etait Temps and 2025 Supreme Novices' Hurdle conqueror Kopek Des Bordes being aimed at the two-mile chasing holy grail.
Should it not go to plan for Barton Snow, O'Shea has told the owners not to worry as he thinks that they already have the Hunter Chase winner in the stable!
“I have told the owners we’ve got the Cheltenham winner in Boley Bob. ‘You are going to win it anyway’ I told them as it’s the same owners. That or be second to Barton Snow (if they send him there)," Recalled O'Shea.
“But I’m telling you this is a flying machine. He is unbelievable. An absolutely amazing horse and we see it every day.”
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