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Walking away with four winners from last year’s Cheltenham Festival was a real feather in the cap for Dan Skelton, but those achievements could be eclipsed after the Grade One-winning trainer admitted he will be taking his strongest ever team to the meeting.
Last year saw the Lodge Hill Stables fly the flag thanks to victories for Grey Dawning (Turners Novices’ Chase), Langer Dan (Coral Cup), Protektorat (Ryanair Chase) and Unexpected Party (Grand Annual).
With all of those above, bar Grey Dawning, set for a return to the meeting, together with the likes of exciting novice hurdler The New Lion, and lightly raced handicap hurdlers Be Aware and Valgrand on the team sheet, it is easy to see why Skelton has high expectations.
But while excited about what he intends to take to the four-day meeting, he is well aware that saddling the same number of Festival winners as he did 12 months ago, or potentially going one better, is not a given despite his levels of optimism.
Skelton said: “It is frightening to say it is better, but just because it is better that doesn’t mean you will have five winners because you had four last year. That is highly presumptuous and you can’t do that. I never thought we would have four winners last year and I was rude enough to think my best chance was on the Friday, and we got beat.
“I think we have got the best team we have ever had, but whether that bears out in the results will be a different matter. I think time will tell you this is the best team we have had with results beyond the Festival. We are in a great position. The staff and the owners have put us in the position we are in right now.
“I think our best chance overall is The New Lion. The handicapper I keep banging on about, if it all goes well for him, is Be Aware, and the dark horse is Fortune De Mer as he has been overlooked because of his defeat at Huntingdon."
