Dan Skelton, a renowned trainer, outlines his expectations for his horses at the 2025 Cheltenham Festival. Key entries include Protektorat in the Ryanair Chase, with hopes pinned on his resilience and past performance. Langer Dan aims for the Stayers' Hurdle despite recent challenges. Promising contenders like L'Eau Du Sud for the Arkle Challenge Trophy and The New Lion for the Turners' Novices' Hurdle add to Skelton's excitement. With strategic adjustments and anticipation for various conditions, Skelton's detailed planning sets the stage for potential victories.
Dan Skelton's stable tour ahead of the 2025 Cheltenham Festival
Skelton spoke to AtTheRaces this weekend
Read exclusive quotes about Langer Dan, The New Lion, Protektorat and more
Jockey Harry Skelton (L) and trainer Dan Skelton celebrate with the trophy after Protektorat won the Ryanair Chase race on the third day of the Cheltenham Festival. (Getty)
Dan Skelton spoke to AtTheRaces this week. Read key quotes about his possible runners at the 2025 Cheltenham Festival.
*All quotes attributed to AtTheRaces*
Dan Skelton Cheltenham Festival 2025 Stable Tour
Graded Horses
Protektorat (Ryanair Chase)
He only has one entry and is definitely going for the Ryanair, which he won last year. You won’t believe me when I tell you this, but this horse got a sort of an infection in his back leg last night, but you wouldn’t even believe there was a problem this morning. It shows you how tough the horse is, but I was worried I wouldn’t be able to show you him this morning and he would have to have an easy few days - but it shows you how tough he is.
We are very lucky to have Protektorat - not only is his talent what it is but his resolution and his desire is absolutely top quality. I think that is what gives him his ability to run so well in these top races and to have the longevity that he has. He will obviously head back for the Ryanair, and I think he has a real chance. His early season this year - he had a lot of weight and needed the race in the Paddy Power more than I thought he would, and we got in a bit of a row in the Peterborough Chase going right-handed. We hoped it would be different, and we didn’t expect to work out the way it did but maybe we rode him wrong, and we maybe should have jumped out and gone on and then the right handedness may not have made such a difference.
The end of his season was always going to be better than his start and he was sensational at Windsor and was in the best condition I have ever seen him in. He heads to the Ryanair a year older but is certainly no less a horse. Of course, there are new challengers with attacks from France and Ireland, but I wouldn’t say they won’t worry me, but he will run his best race. Last year he beat Envoi Allen who won all those Grade 1’s and danced all those dances and he went away and beat him four lengths in the end and there was nothing wrong with that performance. If there is any more to give, he will be giving it in three weeks’ time and he has never been this well and is incredible.
It is a credit to himself and all those around to have him in this shape. We trained him differently at the backend of last year and this year and we have actually run him in rubber shoes. As a young horse he was very keen, and the back leg would come through and strike his elbow. We found shoeing him differently and training him differently helped that out and that is what helped us last spring to win the Ryanair and his longevity and different bits and pieces that we were doing with him definitely helped him.
Langer Dan (Stayers' Hurdle)
It has been disastrous this year, but I did tell people that was highly likely. He is impossible to train, and he isn’t going well at the moment. I just hope he turns up on the day and he will be running in the Stayers’ for sure, as he wouldn’t be able to give all that weight in the Coral Cup. He goes to the Stayers’ Hurdle on trust.
Take No Chances (Mares' Hurdle)
She is in the Mares’ Hurdle and that is her only entry. She isn’t ground dependent, but if it got very soft, I would have to consider it. Good to soft, soft in places is no problem at all. It isn’t impossible that she could go off second-favourite behind the horse she beat. Given her form this year - she has won a Listed contest over two miles and Grade 2 over two , and she is highly unpredictable as I was running her over three miles in June, which I have to ask myself what I was doing but she was still winning, thank God.
She has just grown with confidence and has a great outlook. She is very honest, tries hard and loves racing and could run every fortnight if you let her. I think she goes there with a real chance, and she will be running and will give her best. If Lossiemouth and Brighterdaysahead turn up, we are going to be scrapping it out for minor placings, but if it turns into a fight then it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that she will be there. I am surprised she has won over two, and she will be better suited by two and a half miles, so I think she is a player.
Harry Skelton celebrates on board Protektorat after winning the Ryanair Chase during day three of the Cheltenham Festival 2024. (Getty)
L'Eau Du Sud (Arkle Challenge Trophy)
He has done nothing wrong over fences and is four from four. I always expected him to be a much better chaser than he was a hurdler, and I can’t say I was disappointed with his performances as a hurdler. He finished second in the Betfair and second in the County Hurdle and I still can’t believe he got beat there. Even though we had four winners I went into Friday thinking he was our best chance of the meeting, and he finished second.
He hasn’t looked back since going chasing and he has course form and has won on soft and can get away with it and if it’s better ground he will like that. He is very versatile and has had those extra runs and he is a good enough hurdler to win an Arkle Challenge Trophy. I have a lot of respect for Majborough, but I really like this horse and don’t want to say he will go and win but I think he will make it look closer than the betting suggests. I think at Warwick was what really impressed me was the way he jumped the last three and put distance between himself and 150 rated hurdler Rubaud. After jumping the last Harry only had to shake him up to win and he did want some company.
The ground was against him at Sandown in the Henry VIII and he was very good and put them away that day even though I don’t think he was at his best on that heavy ground. He has course form, has plenty of experience and is on the crest of a wave - there isn’t much I don’t like about him. His best performance probably came at Cheltenham in November, where he got a lead and quickened up over course and distance.
The New Lion (Turners' Novices' Hurdle)
He looks outstanding, and this horse’s coat makes him look one of the most forward of our horses. I took him to Huntingdon the other day - it wasn’t a gallop and more a canter round and a day out but what I like about him is that energy and he is so bright. He walked around the paddock with exuberance and happiness and is never a horse that pulls in the race or pulls in work, so he is never going to boil over.
I just love to see him looking and feeling so well and he is going to be going for the Turners, unless the ground is very soft or heavy. If that was the case, he could go for the Supreme on the first day, but the reality is that he is going on the Wednesday and I love everything about him - his attitude, his trainability, and if you ask Harry he loves the way he has to ride him. If you want to go inside you can, if you want to go outside you can and if he you want to go quicker or want to go slower, he can do that as well - he can do it all. He is training well, and those good horses are all relaxed and happy. He has just got it, and we love him. Hopefully, we can have a nice smooth run and what will be will be.
Grey Dawning (Gold Cup)
At the moment, the idea is to go to Kelso with Grey Dawning and then Aintree. I will leave him in the Gold Cup just in case something untoward happened with the opposition and I don’t wish that upon them of course. Maybe I would have looked at this race differently if he had won at Haydock, but he didn’t, and I feel if you go to Kelso and Aintree, it gives us two chances of running twice.
If he went for the Gold Cup, we would only have run him once. We need to do what is right for the horse, short and long term, I think it gives us a chance to win those races and long term maybe we can get some experience and come back a Gold Cup horse next year. Of course, I am disappointed not to be going for a Gold Cup that I thought last year we would be going for, but you have to be open to change with horses. He is in great form, looks outstanding and I think he will take a lot of beating at Kelso and if things go well at Kelso he will turn up at Aintree.
I think he has recovered from Haydock to go to Kempton and what happened at Kempton was that the mistake at the first put us on the back foot and the speed that Il Est Francais went made the three milers look like four milers that day and put us all on the back foot. It was just one of those days and it didn’t work out for him - put it in the bin and he has come out of it fine.
Grey Dawning looks set to skip the Cheltenham Festival this year. (Getty)
Fortune De Mer (Champion Bumper)
He would provide us with our best chance in the Champion Bumper and he has been overlooked now as he was fourth in his bumper at Huntingdon. If you look at the race back he didn’t stop pulling until he turned in and, a bit like Be Aware, he was a bit too keen and full of his own ideas but I needed him to run at Huntingdon as I knew what he would do. He is back at Cheltenham where he won at and the speed of the race in the Champion Bumper will really suit him. I can give him an each-way chance in that for sure.
Dalston Lad (Champion Bumper)
He goes for the Champion Bumper and worked after racing at Warwick yesterday. He is two from two and is a real tough horse who is very well. Maybe there are one or two in there and he wouldn’t smack you in the face as a Champion Bumper horse, but he will really see it out well.
Koeps Des Bordes (Champion Bumper)
He is going for the Champion Bumper as well, having finished second to No Drama This End of Paul’s. I see him as a long-term chaser and a very good horse at that. I don’t think he is going to come to any disadvantage at Cheltenham at a young age as for a big horse he is very well balanced, and he will get a lot of experience from that. If it came up really soft, I could see him running very well as he is full of ability. He is not one of the most obvious ones.
Handicappers
Be Aware (Coral Cup)
He is mentally fragile, but he has come a long way in a year. He was way too fresh when galloping at Huntingdon, but we had to get a day into him, and he has done loads of work since. We will have him under control and if he settles in the Coral Cup he would have an outstanding chance. He ran well in both of his handicap hurdles this year and his best one was probably in the Greatwood Hurdle where he came up against Burdett Road. For me, he is a live candidate for the Coral Cup. If we ran in the County Hurdle you are coming against more speedy types and an Absurde can come and grab you late on like we did with L’Eau Du Sud last year. If you put Be Aware in that position, I think you would be putting him in the same position, so I think it is right to go for the Coral Cup.
Catch Him Derry (Pertemps Final)
Our main throw of the dice here is likely to be Catch Him Derry, who won a qualifier at Exeter, and because he won the qualifier, he will get in. He wasn’t quite right behind afterwards - you couldn’t say he was lame, but he pulled himself about. I don’t think he was that fit at Cheltenham in January - I thought I had done enough with him, but I think he improved fitness-wise from Cheltenham to Exeter, and he will have a nice racing weight in the Pertemps Final. If the ground is soft, I could see him running well.
Gwennie May Boy (Pertemps Final)
I’m not sure whether he will run in the Pertemps. The Handicapper has encouraged me not to run - I think the right thing to do with him is to go the Aintree for the Grade 1.
Harpers Brook (Grand Annual)
Harper’s Brook will run in the Grand Annual, as long as this Saturday goes well. He is in at Chepstow. He is a funny horse, and I think he just comes to the end of his run. You can’t have him too far behind as he doesn’t get to them, and if you have him too far forward he starts to fade under pressure. He is a character, but he is good - I think he will run very well at Chepstow.
Joyeaux Machin (Coral Cup)
He ran very well the other day but hasn’t qualified for the Pertemps, which would have been the absolute perfect race for him, but he is entered in the Coral Cup, and we will have a look at that, but he would want it to be soft. He could be a horse to go for a £100,000 race at Uttoxeter on the Saturday. I have been really taken with the way he has managed to get his act together, and you could well see a little more stepping up to three miles.
Harry Skelton riding Valgrand clear the last to win The Sky Bet Novices' Hurdle at Cheltenham. (Getty)
Nurse Susan (Martin Pipe)
You will probably see her running in the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle. I haven’t had her long enough to get her ready for the Mares’ Hurdle, but she is a very talented mare. Under normal circumstances, I would give her a massive chance, but I haven’t had enough time with her. I think she will run, but I think she will improve for the run.
Panic Attack (Plate Handicap Chase)
She will definitely run in the Plate - we had two entries with her, but the Mares’ Chase is biting too much off at this point. I think the Plate is a much better option and she has improved going chasing. She ran well over hurdles the other day when just getting beat and I think that was a par run. I think she will be a player in the Plate returning to fences and I don’t think Cheltenham will be an issue for her.
Unexpected Party (Grand Annual)
He is another with only one entry and he goes for the Grand Annual which he won last year. He looks great and got back to a bit of form at Windsor the other day. He finished second at Windsor and it was a much better run which we needed to see. There had been no flashes of light up to that point, but he is working really well now, and I think he goes there with an each-way chance. Last year everything went right for this horse and it will have to again, but this time off a 6lb higher mark and he is a year older. It won’t be easy, but the fire is starting to burn.
Valgrand (County Hurdle)
He only has one entry and is definitely going for the County Hurdle. If you had asked me at Christmas time ‘would you have much chance in the County Hurdle’, I would have said no at a push. As the days are getting longer his coat is turning, and you can see how bright he is. It is all just coming together. He is in a handicap and it is going to be hard, but he was very good in the two-mile graded race at Cheltenham in October and bolted in then, before being put in his place by Potter’s Charm over two and a half, which was no disgrace. He then couldn’t carry top weight on bad ground afterwards. I just feel like it is coming together, he has ability, and if it is decent ground I can see him being there.
