Dan Skelton

Dan Skelton has begun mapping out where his leading contenders might fit across the week – from the Champion Hurdle and Gold Cup, to the handicaps where his yard has repeatedly shown it can peak a horse on the right day.

The New Lion is the headline act from Skelton’s current team, and he’s comfortable with the idea that the horse can win a Champion Hurdle, even if he admits he was surprised to see him so prominent in the market so early given his lack of two-mile evidence at the time. Skelton leans hard on the qualities that matter in March at Cheltenham – stamina for what becomes a punishing finish, a straightforward attitude, and the ability to quicken – and frames the Newcastle fall as a messy, circumstance-driven episode rather than a deal-breaker. Harry Skelton has also publicly kept the Champion Hurdle as the clear target despite that tumble.

Constitution Hill is central to that Newcastle story because his fall changed the shape of the race and, by Skelton’s account, forced The New Lion into unfamiliar “no man’s land” in front. In Skelton’s view, the key isn’t to pretend the mistake didn’t happen, but to take confidence from how well his horse came out of it physically and how he then got a confidence-boosting clear round back at Cheltenham.

Sir Gino and Lossiemouth are both mentioned as moving parts in the Champion Hurdle picture – the sort of elite rivals whose targets and form swings can reshape the market through winter. Skelton’s point is that favourites can look “obvious” at Christmas and less so a few weeks later; his wider message is that he rates The New Lion’s current status as a fair reflection of what has been achieved on track, not hype.

Take No Chances is approached differently: Skelton calls her hugely consistent, tenacious, and a mare who handles Cheltenham and whatever the season throws at her, but he also acknowledges the depth at the top of the Mares’ Hurdle division. The plan, he suggests, is to arrive fresher than last year by doing slightly less, with the aim of producing her best up the hill against Grade 1-proven opposition.

Nurse Susan (misheard as “Nor Susan” in the transcript) is described as a mare who has taken time for everything to click, but is now in the best form of her life – and Skelton sounds keen to be flexible with her entries, including the Stayers’ Hurdle where the mares’ allowance can matter if the race setup suits her hold-up style. Her Sandown win is referenced as evidence she’ll relish a proper test and keep finding.

Kabral Du Mathan is the staying project Skelton sounds increasingly excited about, a horse he feels is only “scratching the surface” over medium-to-long trips. The Stayers’ Hurdle is kept alive as a Plan B (with Aintree also in mind), and the overall theme is progression: Skelton expects him to keep getting better as his stamina is drawn out.

Supremely West is one of the handicap horses Skelton is happiest to talk about, particularly for the Pertemps Final (“the Pertemps” in the transcript), where he suggests the key question earlier in the season was stamina – a doubt he feels has now been answered. It’s classic Skelton targeting logic: find the right trip, preserve enough for March, and back the horse to run his race when it matters.

Madara is pencilled in for the Plate, with Skelton noting the leg issue that delayed his season and hinting that the interrupted preparation could actually be a positive in a handicap context – fewer hard races, less mileage, and potentially more to come on the day.

A Pai de Nom is mentioned as the exception to Skelton’s “lightly raced through the season” angle – a horse who has been running regularly, climbing the ladder, and arriving off what sounds like a career-best. Skelton’s take is that this sort of profile can still work at Cheltenham, especially in a competitive conditional jockeys’ race where attitude and momentum can count for plenty.

Be Aware is flagged as a likely Grand Annual runner, and Skelton’s assessment is simple: he’s been holding his own in decent races, and if the race is run at a strong tempo that allows him to settle and come through late, he’s got a shout in one of the Festival’s most frantic handicaps.

Grey Dawning is Skelton’s Gold Cup hope, and he’s emphatic about stamina – the horse, he insists, will stay. The harder question is class: is he good enough to win a Gold Cup in a “brilliant” renewal? Skelton’s optimism is rooted in preparation and the feeling the horse is in the form of his life, and he even frames a key mistake in the Cotswold Chase as a strange sort of help because it stopped the run becoming an all-out war to the line.

Protektorat is treated like the elder statesman of the team, with Skelton leaving the door open to another Ryanair Chase bid depending on how rivals split between targets. He openly notes age and the likelihood of losing a fraction of speed, but also stresses the horse’s tenacity, attitude and sheer value to the yard – suggesting that if the race cuts up, Protektorat could still make the frame at a big price.

L’Eau du Sud is the yard’s top-class two-mile chaser, and Skelton’s comments revolve around freshness and timing. He explains that the horse’s huge run in the Shloer Chase came when everything was geared towards being ready, and that the Tingle Creek underperformance was a sign he can’t be “churned out” – he needs spacing and a deliberate build to peak again, ideally with the weather turning in his favour.

Panic Attack is the feel-good story in Skelton’s line-up: a mare he didn’t expect to do what she’s done this season, but who has suddenly rattled off major handicap wins and looked to have improved again at Newbury. Skelton talks about her like a horse who has found a new level and kept it, even while acknowledging the challenge of taking on proven Grade 1 mares, and he points to the small weight swing as the kind of detail that can decide a finish up the hill.

Dino Blue is brought up as the obvious measuring stick for Panic Attack’s Festival target, with Skelton effectively admitting that’s the mare his team may have to beat. The tone is respectful rather than fearful – a recognition that a “hard to beat” rival doesn’t rule out a big run if his own mare turns up in the same sparkling form.

My Bobby Dazzler appears in the transcript as “my daddy… Patty”, but the context is clear: Skelton is talking about a home-bred horse associated with Jason Maguire, one he describes as a beauty who impressed from his first bits of work, ran a strong bumper, and looked exceptional over hurdles before things went wrong at Aintree. Skelton’s view is that Aintree didn’t show the real horse and that he expects a return to the promise of the first two hurdle runs.

Idaho Sun is mentioned as part of that same juvenile/novice-hurdle conversation, with Skelton taking care not to dismiss a rival while still backing his own. He calls Idaho Sun tenacious and “rock-solid”, and the key line is that Skelton is fully committed to his horse for the race even while conceding it looks one of the more competitive renewals in recent years.

Maestro Conti is Skelton’s Triumph Hurdle contender, and the pitch is versatility: he’s answered questions on different ground, shown continuity in his form, and shaped like a straightforward type who doesn’t need endless hard gallops to be ready. Skelton acknowledges there are smart rivals – including a horse he refers to as “Our Sister H” – but he likes the fact Maestro Conti has course form and the kind of profile that can travel, jump, and keep finding in a Triumph.

Moneygarrow is presented as the one who might be slipping under the radar for the Albert Bartlett: improving run by run, suited by three miles, and likely to be seen to best effect when others have cried enough. Skelton even frames his “lazy traveller” tendency as a positive for that race type – a horse who can come home strong when the stamina test really bites – while admitting the remaining question is whether he’s good enough at the very top level.