HARRY SKELTON: Cheltenham Festival Debrief

The Festival was dramatic to say the least. It was racing in a nutshell – you should expect the unexpected, writes HARRY SKELTON. There were some great winners, and we were obviously delighted to get on the scoresheet with The New Lion in the Turners.

It’s a meeting that can give you so much joy but also so much disappointment – we’ve been on both sides of that before. Generally, our horses ran really well, they ran as expected and it’s always great if you can leave the Festival with a winner.

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CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL KEY RUNNERS

THE NEW LION

I’ve always had a lot of belief in this horse – he’s just a bit different to the other novices I’ve ridden. You don’t see the speed he has on the track at home really, he shows it where it matters. He got a lovely tow into the race behind Paul [Townend] on Final Demand. He travelled and jumped great, and once I switched him out he stuck his head out and battled on really well. He’d never had to do that before but it was nice to see that he can tough it out.

A lot of horses who have won the Turners in the past have come back in trip and gone on to a Champion Hurdle. We hope he can do that and he’s certainly not a slow horse. It’s really exciting going forward. He’s done plenty this season, so we’ll put him away now and then make a plan for next season over the summer.

L’EAU DU SUD

He ran well in the Arkle. He travelled and jumped really strongly and got left in front a bit sooner than I’d have wanted when Majborough made the mistake at the second last. You’d have to say Majborough was an unlucky loser. There were no complaints at all from us. Going forward, we can hold him up a bit and maybe put a pair of cheekpieces on him. He’s come out of the race really well, so he’ll go to Aintree for the two-mile novice chase.

TAKE NO CHANCES

She ran an absolute cracker in the Mares’ Hurdle. We rode her to come home strong and that’s exactly what she did. She’s been an absolute credit to herself this season and has given her owners a lot of fun. She also might be out at Aintree in a few weeks.

BE AWARE
Be Aware was another to run well in the Coral Cup and going to two out I thought he’d win, but he flattened out a bit rather than picking up. There were no excuses, he just wasn’t good enough on the day. He could go to Aintree for a handicap, but he’ll definitely go over fences next season and he’s a nice chaser in the making.

UNEXPECTED PARTY
He was 6lbs higher this year and with 6lbs less he’d have gone very close. Another with no excuses, he ran his heart out and we may look at the Celebration Chase at Sandown on the final day of the season.

FORTUNE DE MER
He was over the top really and needs a holiday. They went way too slow and I knew after a furlong that we wouldn’t be winning. He’s a hold up horse, that’s the way they’ve got to be ridden, and that’s the chance you take.

CATCH HIM DERRY
It was a really good run from him to finish third in the Pertemps, one of the most competitive races of the week. Slightly softer ground would have helped, but he’s improving and we were very pleased with him. We might look at fences next season.

PROTEKTORAT
I thought it was another fine race from him and he’s another who would have wanted a bit of rain. He kept on gamely, but you have to say that Fact To File was absolutely fantastic. I know some people say he should have been running in the Gold Cup, but until the powers that be do something, as an owner or trainer you run your horse in the race you think you’ve got the best chance to win. You’re there to win, it’s as simple as that.

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UTTOXETER

SATURDAY

It was nice to get on the board with Hidden History in the 2m4f handicap hurdle at Uttoxeter. He stayed on really well and he’ll definitely get three miles. We don’t know an awful lot about him as we haven’t had him for long, but he got the job done nicely.

It was frustrating to get beat on Joyeux Machin in the valuable 3m handicap hurdle. Once we jumped three out and started to get rolling, I kept the momentum going but in hindsight, I should have brought him back. I wanted to press Red Risk as I thought all his best form was around 2m4f. He still ran a really nice race and all options are open.

Trainer’s Championship and Jockeys’ Cup

Dan’s in a great position going into the final few weeks of the season. We should have a good team going to Aintree and Ayr, but there’s still plenty of money on offer, so we need to keep our foot down and hopefully get across the line.

There are only three days left in the David Power Jockeys’ Cup. I’ve got a decent lead of 78 points and hopefully, I‘ve made it difficult for the guys behind to catch me. I still need to pick up a few points, though, and I’ll be going all out to do that at Newbury and Aintree.

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