Dan Skelton Cheltenham Festival 2025 day two blog

Dan Skelton previews his runners on day two of Cheltenham Festival 2025 on Wednesday in his latest exclusive blog with Ladbrokes.

We start with The New Lion on Wednesday, who is obviously a very exciting horse for us, and for the week. He's in good form and has won all of his races in the build-up to this - we'd love to think we can add another one to his CV with the Turners' Novices' Hurdle as well. It's going to be very hard though; it's obviously the best competition he's faced by a long stretch. I'm happy with how he is, though.

The trip and the track should suit him, as does the drying ground. It’s obviously a good race, and hopefully a few horses in there go forward over the years to come.

Be Aware runs in the Coral Cup, and he's the one I've put up in a few of the previews. I just think the step up in trip will suit him massively. He ran really well at the course at the start of the year, when he finished second to Burdett Road in the Greatwood.

There is just a concern that he does too much in the race - he has done that in the past, and that would be my main concern. But I feel that he's a horse who can go beyond his current handicap mark, and, like I say, the step up in trip will be a certain positive to him. It's massively competitive, obviously, but I think he's got a good chance.

We've got Unexpected Party in the Grand Annual, a race he won last year. He's just started to come back to a bit of form to be honest. He ran quite nicely, last time out at Windsor, which was good to see, because we hadn't seen much all winter.

I'd like to think that he can be competitive again. He does it off a six-pound higher mark this year, so it's not going to be easy from that perspective. But I feel like he's in good form, and actually the better ground does suit him as well.

We've got two in the Champion Bumper, and obviously it's as competitive a bumper as ever. Harry [Skelton] rides Fortune De Mer, who won a listed race back in November, and was very good in doing it. He's probably been a little overlooked because he got beat last time.

But I had to get a run into him at Huntingdon, and he ran nicely, despite pulling as hard as he did. This race will suit him much better though; a faster run race, around a track he's good at. The drying conditions are also a big positive for him.

Dalston Lad is our other runner, and he's two from two this year. He's a very tough horse who I think will run nicely. He would be susceptible I think, to a couple that would just have a bit more toe than him, but he will keep galloping.

He's been pretty good in bumpers this year, and I'd say he'll run well, but maybe Fortune De Mer just has that bit of toe that, on this ground, I think could be important. 

For those interested, Ladbrokes has an 'everything you need to know' piece ahead of Cheltenham, as well as a beginner's guide to betting at the festival.

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