Dan Skelton discusses his runners at Kempton and Wetherby

It’s day two of the Ladbrokes Christmas Festival and we will have runners at both Kempton and Wetherby.

At Kempton we start with Ambassador (12.45) who was a good second at Warwick the other day. He’s improved a bit at home and has to come on for the run with his jumping.

There is a mare of Alan King’s in here, Her Indoors, with a bit of fancier form but I am very happy with our horse.

We have Molly Ollys Wishes (13.55) in the mares hurdle. I think this is a perfect race for her over 3m with a bit of rain expected overnight.

Nube Negra (14.30) takes on Altior and co in the Ladbrokes Desert Orchid Chase so this is a massive step up for him. I am very happy with him at home. He’s had a few away days and I’ve done as much work as I possibly can with him. The track will suit him.

We’ve been waiting for this race, not expecting Altior to be in it. So it’s a hot race but we are very happy with our horse.

Cadzand and Crooks Peak (15.40) contest the last. Harry rides Cadzand who won last time. I think the track will suit him and I would have to give him a fair chance. He’s a nice, progressive horse.

Crooks Peak ran okay the other day but got a little tired at Cheltenham on his first run for us. I think this track might suit him a little more.

At Wetherby Bridget rides Gylo (12.25) in the novice hurdle. He ran okay last time. I think he’ll improve for it. Whether Wetherby is the perfect track for him we will see, but he’s a tough horse who jumps nicely and I think he stays well. Hopefully he will have a little chance.

Marracudja (14.10) won the Castleford last year. There are not so many runners this year but it’s a pretty hot renewal with horses in there that have been winning a lot recently.

He is back down to a more realistic mark and I would have to give him an each way chance for sure. He is looking like he is coming back to the boil and the handicap mark offers him a possibility he could win.

Breakwater Boy (15.20) runs in the bumper. He didn’t show a great deal in the bumper at Newbury, which was a bit irritating because, without setting the world alight at home, we thought he was a bit better than he showed.

Perhaps on the real good ground, riding him the way we did, he couldn’t show his best. On a bit softer ground, with a bit more emphasis on stamina, we can ride him a bit handier. I think we will see more from him. 

He is definitely a jumper for the future, a nice big 16.3hh chasing type. Whilst we hope he will run a lot better, we don’t really consider him to be a bumper specialist.

Dan