Dan Skelton blog: ‘He definitely has a chance’
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In the latest Dan Skelton blog, the Ladbrokes ambassador and trainer exclusively discusses the chances of his runners at Chepstow and Kempton.
Dan Skelton blog
The ground can’t be soft enough for Mount Tempest and he has been a revelation this year over fences, especially on really soft ground. I would have to give him a massive chance in this. His chances are obvious given the ground and everything else, so I am really looking forward to running him at Chepstow.
Harry [Skelton] rides Get A Tonic who ran well in the autumn, especially at Newbury and this type of track really suits her. I don’t have any negatives to say, other than I wouldn’t want the ground too soft. We will see how it is, good to soft, soft, is fine, and anything better than that is a bonus for her. She is in good form and I think she will have a productive springtime.
Boombawn comes here off the back of a break. I think he will just need the run a fraction. He loves the ground really good, so on that point, it could be better for him.
Then you have West To The Bridge who loves really soft ground. He is also coming back off a break after he had a little injury back in the autumn. It was a ligament injury which he is over now and he is in great form; he is such a pleasure to have around the place. I just think the handicap has him very high. He’s not getting any younger!
This is a competitive race but Pembroke is in great form and I don’t think the trip is an issue; he won over it at Aintree. The ground is no problem over the trip either. I have to say he has held his form really well so let’s get out there and see where stand. He definitely has a chance.
This is quite a competitive race. He couldn’t run at Doncaster during the week so he comes here instead. One thing we haven’t done is go on a flat track right-handed. You watch him in his races and he has gone to his right and I do think he will be quite effective on a flat track. He is a horse with plenty of speed so I am looking forward to running him here. We don’t expect to be favourite but he is a horse who has held good form. The only average race he ran is when he went up to Musselburgh on New Year’s Day and everything we ran that day ran similarly so we aren’t holding that against him.
We have had this race in mind for Flegmatik all year. He was just touched off in it last year and in a nutshell, we are hoping to go one better. His prep has been great, he won just after the New Year, and he knows the course really well. We were disappointed when he got chinned last year so hopefully we will be going home much happier this year.
It is great to get Heltenham back over fences. Funnily enough the races just haven’t fallen right for him over fences this year. He is much more at home over fences. I think the track is fine for him, and if you look at his form from last year, the ground won’t be an issue either. I have to say he is really coming into himself and I would expect a big run.
I expect a nice run from Country Mile. He was second in an English point-to-point having nearly got stopped in running going to two out. I really like him and I have worked him a good few times at home and been pleased. Whilst we don’t presume much with our bumper horses, he has shown more at home than say a debutant could ever have done so we are hopeful of going here and putting in a good run.
