Dan Skelton Cheltenham Festival blog: Day Three Preview
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The Dan Skelton Cheltenham Festival Blog sees the leading trainer previews his runners for day three of the festival today.
He went for this race instead of the Brown Advisory because we knew the ground would be pretty soft and I don’t have any fears about 2 ½ miles on a staying track like this. His form has been very good this year. I thought he was going to win at Cheltenham when he made a mistake two out, giving weight away to Ginny’s Destiny, which is a strong piece of form. I have respect for a lot of horses in here, but I like our horse a lot.
He won last year’s Coral Gold Cup and spent this year over hurdles. He’s just had surgery back in the summer and we started back over hurdles and he seems to be enjoying it. I thought his run at Ascot was ok. The step up to three miles is a big positive, as is the softer ground, and I would give him an each-way chance here.
He steps back in trip here in the Ryanair. He’s just not hitting the Gold Cup standard. We have had a go in that race twice and came third and fifth. I think that third would be nearly good enough to win this race. We rode him differently in two Gold Cups to see if we could get a different result. We are in this race knowing we stay the trip very well; and we will be handy the whole way with him. He is in good form at home, looks great, and has held his form quite well this year. I am looking forward to this
All odds and markets are correct as of the date of publication.
