Lulamba Joins Elite Company: Can He Follow the Game Spirit-Arkle Trail?

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 06:30:00 +0000

Lulamba didn’t so much win the Game Spirit Chase as survive it. For three-quarters of the race at Newbury on Saturday, Nicky Henderson’s unbeaten novice looked anything but a 11/8 Arkle favourite. He was off the bridle early, not entirely foot perfect at his fences, and turning in you could have got decent odds about him seeing it out.

Then, between the third and second last, Nico De Boinville squeezed and Lulamba responded like a proper racehorse. The acceleration was instant, the jumps at the final two fences assured, and the six-and-a-half-length margin over Saint Segal at the line barely reflected his superiority.

Lulamba Follows Altior's Path: Does the Game Spirit-Arkle Double Still Work?

Mon, 09 Feb 2026 18:15:00 +0000

Lulamba kept his unbeaten record over fences intact with a six-and-a-half length win in the William Hill Game Spirit Chase at Newbury on Saturday, but it was the way he won that caught the eye — and the way he matches a pattern that has produced two of the greatest two-mile chasers of the modern era.

Nico de Boinville’s mount was giving weight to seasoned handicappers, jumped sketchily at times on the heavy ground, and was even off the bridle turning in. Yet when the serious business started between the third and second last, he found lengths his rivals simply couldn’t match. The market has reacted accordingly: Lulamba is now 11/8 favourite for the Arkle Challenge Trophy at the Cheltenham Festival.

Lulamba on The Race Lab

Lulamba Joins Elite Company: Can He Follow the Game Spirit-Arkle Trail?

Lulamba Follows Altior's Path: Does the Game Spirit-Arkle Double Still Work?