Alcester-based trainer Dan Skelton had plenty to smile about after enjoying a productive first day at Cheltenham’s November Meeting.
Skelton has been the darling of sports bettors in recent weeks, with his stable firing out a seemingly endless stream of winners across the country.
The sportsbook attached to online casino Betway was inundated with wagers on Skelton’s runners at Cheltenham, and he duly obliged with two winners.
Much like players of the iconic casino game craps, Skelton is happy to roll the dice with horses he believes can turn over more fancied rivals.
That was the case in the Shloer Chase, with L’Eau Du Sud running out a wide-margin winner over the Nicky Henderson-trained Jonbon.
The seven-year-old failed to fire at Cheltenham and Aintree last spring, but bounced back to form with a vengeance under jockey Harry Skelton.
L’Eau Du Sud breezed into the lead around the home turn before easing effortlessly clear on the run-in to finish 15 lengths clear of Jonbon. The trainer was delighted with the run.
“Maybe the conditions have made him look really good today, but we got him ready for today as we needed to know where he stands,” he said.
“Whether he got beat by Jonbon or not we were hopeful today was a career best, and it was. I was hoping we could take the step forward, but you can never be sure. Looking at today he’s clearly improved.
“I’m not afraid of running novices and they have to go out and run to learn what to do. Maybe those defeats in the spring have helped turn him into the man he has become today and of course there are positives to it all.
“We’ll look forward to the future now with a real good two-miler now. He’ll go straight to the Tingle Creek and maybe after last year straight to the Champion Chase.”
Skelton made a flying start to the meeting earlier in the day when A Pai De Nom triumphed in the 2m5f conditional jockeys’ handicap hurdle under Tristan Durrell.
The horse won at Newton Abbot a couple of months ago, before finishing second at the same course against Gentleman Toboot last time out.
Skelton was concerned about the soft ground conditions ahead of the race, but A Pai De Nom handled them well to finish a length in front of Lucky Manifest.
“Tristan gave him a great ride, made up a bit of ground down the back straight,” Skelton added. “It always felt it was going to be hard to get into it from turning in today’s conditions.
“He had really good form last year. He was behind a really good bumper horse at Chepstow, and then lost his way. We needed to do his wind, but that was a brilliant start to this horse’s career and hopefully he can be a good horse.”
“Something like the Lanzarote would be a possibility, but he’s had a good day today and we’ll worry about what’s next down the line.”
Elsewhere on the card, trainer Paul Nicholls unleashed an exciting hurdling prospect in the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle.
Last seen in the Champion Bumper at the Cheltenham Festival in March, No Drama This End travelled strongly under jockey Harry Cobden before powering clear of his rivals.
Nicholls confirmed that the five-year-old will now be aimed at the Challow Hurdle at Newbury on December 29, a race he has won on six previous occasions.
Written by Michael Cage
