Dan Skelton: I am really looking forward to running him
Published:
Top trainer and Ladbrokes ambassador Dan Skelton discusses the prospects of his runners at Cheltenham’s November Meeting plus his entries at Wetherby on Saturday.
Friday
Calico chased around Jonbon towards the end of last season a couple of times. He comes into this race in great form at home and he ran well at the track over hurdles before. His handicap mark on his run with Jonbon is very acceptable but he has a lot of weight the way this race has panned out.
Walk In Clover will be ridden by Tristan Durrell. Tristan won the Mares’ Final on her at the track in April. Two miles is good for her, especially on a bit of slower ground. Based on her last run, she definitely has a chance.
This horse is new to us but one we know quite well. Bridget’s [Andrews] sister Gina and some of our best friends have this horse who has been great for them. He won the Aintree Foxhunters and now they want to give him a go in the Cross-Country race. Gina Andrews rides him as always. He has very nice form in the amateur ranks, and he is in good health. I don’t remember having a runner in the cross-country races before so it is nice to have a runner.
Saturday
He has a great chance. He won at the start of the year at Chepstow and has great novice form from last year to support him. He also has form with a lot of the horses in here including Stage Star among others. I am really looking forward to running him.
He has been off for a while, as I didn’t get a chance to run him over fences. I have declared him twice and both meetings were called off, so that is highly frustrating. I am very happy with him at home and now I just want to get him started. A hurdle isn’t as suitable as a chase but it’s a good starting point for him.
Tristan Durrell is at Wetherby for us. I think he has a great chance in this novice hurdle. The big meeting at Newbury will be the next step for Heltenham but I would like to get a run under his belt and there aren’t any suitable chases so a hurdle it is. He is actually a novice so that is a great start for him.
She is in good form and I think she has a great each-way chance. She is obviously in the autumn of her career but she is in great order. She has to have a squeak.
He ran really nicely first time at Uttoxeter. He has definitely improved at home but takes on quite a good horse of Alan King’s here, Favour And Fortune. Looking through the rest of the form, that horse will be quite hard to beat. I am very happy with my horse though and it’s a 30k race so we thought we would give it a go.
This is a small field. He had a good run first time out last year at Haydock and didn’t quite go on from there. He is a four-year-old against older horses which is never ideal. However, a nice small field like this to start with will tell us where we go for the rest of the year.
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