Dan Skelton expects big things from Viva Lavilla at Warwick
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Dan Skelton has an action-packed Saturday ahead of him with more than a dozen runners spread throughout the three meetings at Warwick, Kempton and Wetherby.
The Ladbrokes ambassador gave us the lowdown on the prospects of all 13 horses, starting with Greatest Star at Warwick.
He won last time and any drying ground would be of benefit to him. They are moving the hurdles to the fresh inside track which would be a bonus too. He won on really nice ground at Southwell and we are taking this ground on trust.
It is a really strong looking race. Sky Pirate is in there keeping the weights down for everyone else. We were happy with his run the last day and I presume he will step forward. It’s not happened for him yet, but I think it will. He retains plenty of ability and he’ll run well.
I think he will run very well. He was second in a Grade 2 last time and the horse behind him has been out and won since. We have given him a nice long break between races and I think he will like the track and trip.
It’s nice to have a long distance horse in this. We’ve run the likes of Captain Chaos in the past and he placed. We don’t get to run that many in these types of races so it’s nice to have a live contender.
He ran really nicely over hurdles on his first start for us and he looks to have stepped forward at home. There’s always that slight concern about the second run after a lay-off but you have to put that to one side. He’s in good form and I am looking forward to it.
Riggs will run in the Pertemps Qualifier and I think that it will be a very competitive race. He had a good run at Haydock the last day, and we have given him plenty of time since, and have always had this race on the agenda.
It’s a valuable card at Kempton and we start with two in the Lanzarote. Ch’tibello is in great form. I know he is getting older, so I am surprised that he’s stepped forward as much as he has and I am really happy with him. Tristan takes seven pounds off and I think he will be an each-way player.
The same can be said for Cabot Cliffs. He is crying out for the step up in trip. He ran on really nicely the last day at Ascot and this track and trip are ideal for him. I am looking forward to this race, for sure.
I think Lucky One probably needed the last run at Doncaster after falling in the spring. He has stepped forward a good bit at home but I can just see there’s more to come again. It’s not been straight forward with him and hopefully he has his day.
Sofia’s Rock ran much better the other day. There’s a limited amount of options for him at two miles and right-handed, and this is one of them. I was much happier with him at Wincanton the other day.
He looks clear on numbers in this. The way he’s racing, the trip is a positive for him. He should go well.
We put the cheekpieces on to sharpen him up. He has plenty of ability. It does happen for him but the race has to suit him. Around here, I think this will suit him nicely.
With Boss Man Fred, I am a little bit concerned of that second run following a lay-off as he did have such a long time off. I have done loads of work at home with him really but we will see how we get on here.
Shannon Bridge needs to come back to a bit of form. I thought that was a better run at Cheltenham the other day until late on. We have the blinkers back on to help him but obviously the form hasn’t been there recently. He has done well at the track before so that is not an issue.
