Dan Skelton Stable Tour

Form profile

136 rated hurdler. A winner three times in point-to-points and made a highly satisfactory debut over hurdles in a Grade 2 event at Cheltenham (3m) in December when third, beaten six and a quarter lengths, to Blazing Khal. Off the mark over hurdles at Lingfield (2m 7f) in January when scoring by a length and a half from High Stakes.

Trainer says

He is in fantastic form and his coat has really improved over the last two weeks. He did really well after Lingfield and won a race he, perhaps, he should have done after winning so well at Cheltenham in December. As he is horse who is a three miler and has run in a heap of point-to-points he never sparkles in his work at home. Those horses don’t and I said to his owners we will run in the Grade 2 at Cheltenham if he runs well, we are in that league and if not then we go for his maiden hurdle. We ran him to find out and at his age - he has a year on them and has the experience of point-to-points and his ability to relax and see out his race is an advantage in the Albert Bartlett. Sometimes the Albert Bartlett doesn’t turn into a classy affair and is sometimes a slugging match and I think he is well able to get well involved in that kind of scenario. It could rain all day for him.

Form profile

March 2019 by a length and a half from We Have A Dream off a mark of 146. Fell second when leading in the Listed Lanzarote Handicap Hurdle at Kempton (2m 5f) in January.

Trainer says

He could go for the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle. I need to see a bit closer to the time, but he could run in that race. He is not getting any younger but retains so much ability and I am chuffed to bits with him.

Form profile

131 rated hurdler. Winner of both his starts over hurdles - scored by 10 lengths from Restitution at Ascot (1m 7 1/2f) in January and followed up with a nine-length success from Could Talkaboutit in a novices’ hurdle at Taunton (2m 3f) in February.

Trainer says

He is built like a tank and a real strong experienced horse. I like what I saw in pre-training with him after we got him off the Flat and what attracted me to him most was that he is a half-brother to Metier, and we all know what he has done over jumps. I felt this horse was like a milk and stir juvenile and I didn’t know how good he was going to be but that it would be a simple transition to hurdles. He has the physical make up and the attitude to do it. He was good at Ascot where we don’t know what the form was worth and then I ran him over two miles and three deliberately at Taunton as you can’t be frightened of stamina if you are going to win a Triumph Hurdle. With respect, he should have beaten those horses getting his age allowance and everything else. I stood down at the last and I was amazed how he picked up from the back of the second last and powered all the way to the line. He doesn’t do anything flashy and is just a grafter and I think you need that sort for a Triumph. He doesn’t mind getting dirty and I don’t think the ground matters to him - he almost has a Forest Gump attitude and just runs - I like that about him. I don’t know if he is good enough to win a Triumph Hurdle - his two racecourse performances have been very good, but he has done it against horses that are not running in a Triumph, and he has to step up now. I was always going to go there after Taunton, and I didn’t want to go to the Adonis and get a cut or something that kept us off.

Form profile

134 rated hurdler. Progressive mare who kept on strongly in the closing stages when beating Gentleman At Arms a neck in the Listed Sidney Banks Memorial Hurdle at Huntingdon (2m 3 1/2f) in February.

Trainer says

She will go to Aintree unless something happens to Nurse Susan, but I am not going to scratch her immediately. I think it is the right thing to do to go two and a half miles at Aintree and not two miles and a bit at Cheltenham as it might just get her at it. I don’t think there is much between them, and this mare has a penalty at Cheltenham.

Form profile

132 rated hurdler. Winner of both his novices’ hurdles at Exeter (2m 1/f) scored by eight and a half lengths from Great Ocean in a maiden hurdle in December and followed up with a two and three quarter length defeat of the odds-on Peking Rose in a listed event there in February.

Trainer says

Our first entry on Wednesday is Lac De Constance in the Ballymore but I’m pretty certain he won’t run. His owner is coming up on Friday and we will discuss it, but I would say he wouldn’t run.

Form profile

140 rated hurdler. Finished runner-up, beaten two and a quarter lengths, to Galopin Des Champs in the the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle at Cheltenham (2m 4 1/2f) in March last year off a mark of 135 and having first race since when last of six, beaten 10 lengths, to Ajero in a handicap hurdle at Taunton (2m 1/2f) in February.

Trainer says

Hopefully, Galopin Des Champs Mark II doesn’t turn up for the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ this year. He is the smallest of our team and what he lacks in height he makes up for in determination. He had a small little setback in the autumn and just had a hind suspensory flare which wasn’t a catastrophic injury which meant we had to give him some time off. I had to run him at Taunton the other day as I needed to get a run into him and there wasn’t anything suitable anywhere else on a more galloping track or over two and a half. He was never going to win over two miles on decent ground around Taunton and of course I would have liked to have seen him finish closer up the field and how could you say finishing last was a great result, but it was more how he has been since. His coat is just a little bit behind Nube Negra and Protektorat but his fitness is there and give him two weeks and it just has to come together on the day. The mark is acceptable, and it gets him into the race, and he stays the trip well. You have to drop him in and if you bring him forward, he does too much and falls in a heap. I’m chuffed to bits with him, and we are not only sure he will get there but also that he is the best shape we could get him in. Taunton has done its job and put the finishing touches to his preparation.

Form profile

168 rated chaser. High class chaser who took the notable scalp of Altior when beating that legend three and a half lengths in the Grade 2 Desert Orchid Chase at Kempton (2m) in December 2020 and went onto finish runner-up, beaten half a length, to Put The Kettle On in the Grade 1 Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham (2m) last March. Scored by six lengths from Politologue in the Grade 2 Shloer Chase at Cheltenham in November before finishing fourth, beaten 12 lengths, to Greaneteen in the Grade 1 Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown (1m 7 1/2f) in December.

Trainer says

All things being equal and having a clear run between now and then, Nube Negra will be our runner in the Queen Mother Champion Chase. As you can see, he is an outstanding looking horse, and his coat is almost there - it is days from being perfect. A black horse like him is going to look magnificent on the day with a little bit more sun and his coat will be absolutely spot on. His work at home is good and you would expect that from a two-miler. He went to Warwick last week and we didn’t ask him for anything more than a day out and he did just that. He has to be fresh and that is the most important thing with him. If you have him off the back of a run within a month it is too close - he puts so much into those runs and his jumping and galloping he just puts it all in and empties the tank. We were heading to the Tingle Creek then saw that the Shloer Chase was going to be run on decent ground and how could I not have a go at it. We are delighted we did as it gave us a winner at the November Meeting, and would he have won the Tingle Creek fresh we will never know. The better the ground the better result and we have a very fast horse who we know is best when fresh and it is a hot, hot race but we have him where we want, and I can’t do anything about the others. You have to have a clear round with no mistakes and if any of the main contenders make a mistake it is going to tell on them. For him his chance is increased by a lack of rain. I hope we go there, and we win it on merit and it’s not a million to one that he could. He ran brilliantly in the Queen Mother last year and he ran brilliantly fresh in the Shloer Chase and anyone can see why we are positive about him.

Form profile

124 rated hurdler. Runner-up, beaten two and a half lengths, to Love Envoi in a mares’ novices’ hurdle at Lingfield (2m) in January but had won her two previous starts. Scored by seven and a half lengths from Hidor De Bersy in a maiden hurdle at Carlisle (2m 1f) in November and followed up with a two and a half length defeat of Zabeel Champion in a novice event at Leicester (1m 7 1/2f) in December.

Trainer says

She runs in the Parnell Properites Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle. She is a big imposing mare and I have been very impressed with her in her three runs. She stood out in home work quite a lot as a young horse and we didn’t run her in a bumper as I never thought there was any point. She loves to jump and the twice she won she didn’t even come off the bridle and nothing could get near her. The first race she had was against Love Envoi and obvious that mare has done a lot for the form. She is as tough a mare as you could ever possibly come up against in conditions at Lingfield that I couldn’t say didn’t suit us but particularly suited Love Envoi. We travelled well down the hill and went to two out like we were going to beat her, but she just found a bit more. I don’t think there was any disgrace in that and as you can see, she has the right attitude for the game and is relaxed. I am really happy with her and Lingfield was her first proper race and for ten days she came out like she has had a race. In the last three weeks she has blossomed.

Form profile

164 rated chaser. Finished runner-up, beaten three quarters of a length, to Midnight Shadow in the Grade 3 Paddy Power Gold Cup at Cheltenham in November off a mark of 154. Left that from behind when stepped up in trip in the Grade 2 Many Clouds Chase at Aintree (3m) in December when beating Native River 25 lengths.

Trainer says

He looks fantastic, and he is another that we have purposely kept fresh. We have specifically prepped the likes of him Nube Negra, Too Friendly and West Cork for two weeks’ time. We made the decision in our own heads immediately after Aintree that we were going to wait for the Gold Cup, and we wanted to stay away from any potential negativity and the small percentage of a positive from running in a race this side of New Year before the Gold Cup. Running in bad ground or getting a cut far outweighed the positive of winning another race. The Festival winners I have had (Chti’Bello, Roksana, Mohaayed and Superb Story) only one has run in the same calendar year. It’s such big occasion coming that you have to have them ready, and you have to have them fresh. I don’t know how he compares to the current top Grade 1 Chasers as we haven’t taken them on - the horse that finished second at Aintree, Native River, has now retired but, with respect, he was a significant distance behind us at Aintree. I would say we were full of running and ready to go round again at Aintree but I don’t have any personal doubt about the trip in the Gold Cup, but you can never be sure until you’ve been there and done it. One Man and Florida Pearl would tell you that, but I don’t think that worries me - for me he stays all day. I took him to Warwick the other day and it took the fizz out of him. He loves to run and loves to jump, and I hope he does stay all day and that would give us every chance in a very open Gold Cup

Form profile

148 rated chaser. Fell heavily when well clear in the Grade 2 Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby (3m) in October. A winner three times over fences last season and finished a creditable fifth, beaten 12 lengths, to Chantry House in the Grade 1 Marsh Novices' Hurdle at Cheltenham (2m 4f) last March.

Trainer says

Obviously he would have won the Charlie Hall with a clear round but though but is a massive word in sport and he didn’t. He hurt his neck in that fall as you would have expected as it was a pretty horrendous fall. We gave him plenty of time and I spoke to Colm Donlon who owns him in depth and detail about all the options open to us in the aftermath of fall and what our future targets should or would be. It was decided then and there that he would be given the time to the spring and get him there best we could and the only race that was at the back of our minds was the King George, but we thought we might get another crack at that another year, so we didn’t force him after Wetherby. We thought that when we got into the spring we would go the Grade 1 route - I know a mark of 148 looks pretty salivating but he is a Grade 1 horse, and you have to go for those races. He looks incredible, and I am pretty happy with this horse, and he is fresh and well. This horse will have no excuses on the day, and he went to Warwick the other day and went very nice. We have done loads of jumping with him since and I am pleased with what I have seen. We are taking on what many people consider is banker in Allaho in the Ryanair but if you look beyond that I think the race is going to cut up quite significantly. I really like this horse and I think there is a lot of unfinished business. I don’t think there is any point in taking on Allaho early on and you know he is going to go a strong gallop and that a reproduction of last year’s race for him is going to be sufficient to win - I think everyone was blown away by that performance of Allaho - what make me think we have a chance of beating Allaho is that our horse was in the process of putting down the best performance of his life before he fell and I think he is only getting better. The other things is did Allaho put up the peak performance of his life? You have to go into this race optimistic and I believe this horse is a very good horse. The race at Wetherby told us he could be at least a stone better than a 148 horse.

Form profile

130 rated chaser. Invariably runs well at Cheltenham without poking his head in front and put up another solid performance when third, beaten six and a quarter lengths, to Torn And Frayed in a Grade 3 Handicap Chase there over two miles and four and a half furlongs on Trial day in January off his present mark.

Trainer says

If he gets in the race, I would like to get in is the Plate. For the yard that would almost be like the result of the week for Spirit to win but I imagine if he gets in, he will do his thing and run his race. He is off his lowest mark ever and will do his best.

Form profile

135 rated hurdler. Made a winning debut over hurdles when beating Oceanline a length and a quarter at Stratford (2m 1/2f) in October and followed up with a four and three quarter length success from Twilight Twist at Newcastle (2m) in November. Finished fourth, beaten seven and a half lengths, to Knight Salute in the Grade 2 Summit Hurdle at Doncaster (2m 1/2f) in December.

Trainer says

He runs in the Fred Winter I think. He is a 90-rated Flat horse and I think he has a good profile for the race. He has absolutely chunks of ability and has run well in some good hurdles this autumn. He ran in the Summit Hurdle at Doncaster last time where he was too far behind Knight Salute and that horse is one of the leading English hopes for the Triumph. We have given him a wind operation as I would rather have that and not need it than not have it and need it. He needs a few handful to come out to get in the race but if he did get in i think he would run a good race. He is a hurdling type and all things being equal I hope he will have every chance going to the last. He is one of the speediest types I have ever run in the race - I got Nube Negra beaten in it as he’s a chaser and King D’Argent and Zarib and this a more flat active type for the race and suits the race quite well. He went to Warwick on Friday for a gallop and went nicely - we didn’t ask them to set any records we just asked them to go and have a day out.

Form profile

142 rated hurdler. Bounced back to winning ways in great style in a competitive handicap hurdle at Ascot (2m 3 1/2f) in January when beating Fils D’oudairies four and a half lengths off a mark of 130.

Trainer says

Everyone saw him at Ascot in January where he won very nicely and he has a mark of 142 for the Coral Cup. I do have him entered in the Ballymore but I’m pretty certain he will run in the Coral Cup. He is on a decent mark on 142 and you would like to be there off a 138 but it means you have that breathing space of getting in and you won’t have topweight. You really need a Graded horse in a handicap to win and, hopefully, he is that class. If there wasn’t a Cheltenham Festival after Ascot, you would have all expected me to go Graded route with this horse. He will handle the track no problem and he got beat there back in November due to inexperience, but he has improved and improved, and he looks fantastic. He is a very laid-back horse and being by Martaline they can sometimes be sharp and edgy, but this horse is nothing like that at all. We have him right where we want him and I’m sure he is a contender for the Coral Cup.

Form profile

141 rated hurdler. Scored by three quarters of a length from Adagio in the Grade 3 Greatwood Handicap Hurdle at Cheltenham (2m 1/2f) in November off a mark of 134 and subsequently fifth, beaten 16 ½ lengths, to Tritonic in a similar event at Ascot (1m 7 1/2f) in December off his current mark.

Trainer says

I really like this horse and he obviously won the Greatwood off a long, long break he went Ascot and has a terrible overreach. I never seen such a bad overreach in my time with any horse and he literally pulled the bulb of his heel off and it was almost like a 2-inch cube of heel, and it was remarkable. We actually stitched it back on and he was never lame, and I am amazed we got away with it. I also think when that happened two out at Ascot, he was on the cusp of weakening and there’s that bounce factor - I don’t have a clue why they do it. Having that two weeks on the horsewalk and without being able to gallop almost ensured that he couldn’t run until now and we had to wait for the County Hurdle. I said going into Ascot that this horse was a Graded horse and I still believe that - he will go further and his mark of 141 ensure that he will get in the County Hurdle without being topweight. He went for a gallop at Warwick last week and given what we have done before in the race we have always had an eye on that, and he has a good a chance as any before him. He will love the track and has loads of pace. When we got him from Ireland, we gave him a flu vaccination it hit him for six and he couldn’t run for the first year. He was getting ready to go novice chasing last year and came off the lorry and slipped and grazed the tendon at the back of his fetlock. It was only a graze, but it meant he had to have four months off and we weren’t going to get him ready for the end of the season. He has just been a little unlucky and sometimes that can turn into luck long term as they get time and take the opportunities when they are there. He will not be far away. He is a strong staying two miler and most like Chi’tibello rather than Superb Story or Mohaayed who had a lot more speed. I think he will be much better suited by the New Course rather than the Old Course where he won the Greatwood.