Dan Skelton spoke to the press ahead of the 2022 Cheltenham Festival
The Cheltenham Festival takes place on Tuesday 15th March
Protektorat is being aimed at the Cheltenham Gold Cup
Nube Negra will go straight to the Champion Chase
The Ryanair Chase is the target for Shan Blue
Dan Skelton celebrates his 1000th winner as a trainer at Ascot. (Getty)
Dan Skelton provided fans with an update on his stable stars leading up to the 2022 Cheltenham Festival.
Skelton is no stranger to success at the Cheltenham Festival, having twice saddled the winner of the County Hurdle before watching Roksana win the Mares' Hurdle in 2019.
Speaking to the press this week, Skelton seemed positive about his horse's chances of contending in many of the Cheltenham Festival's biggest races. Gold Cup contender, Protektorat and last year's Champion Chase runner-up, Nube Negra were the first of Skelton's runners to be discussed.
"I'm really happy with Protektorat and Nube Negra, and they will go straight to Cheltenham. They've got hard races coming their way but that's what you expect in the Gold Cup and the Champion Chase." Skelton revealed.
Protektorat claimed the first Grade One of his career at Aintree last season and travels to Cheltenham on the back of a dominant victory in the Many Clouds Chase.
"It's a high-quality but open Gold Cup. Does watching them in Ireland change anything? Not really. I feel it's a very open Gold Cup. Every time a Gold Cup contender has raced in a Gold Cup trial, there's been a different winner and Conflated chucked his hat into the ring at the weekend."
"I feel it's a high quality Gold Cup, but quite an open one and I'm delighted to have my horse in the form that's he in at the moment to go there."
Nube Negra found only Put The Kettle On too good in last year's Champion Chase. Skelton's charge flopped in the Tingle Creek last time out, but based on his reappearance victory in the Shloer Chase, Nube Negra returns to the Queen Mother with a significant chance.
Skelton continued, "Nube Negra was second in the race last year and Chacun Pour Soi has proved to be a significantly better horse on his side of the Irish Sea, so perhaps his run in last year's Champion Chase (third) isn't true to what he can really do.
"The two from Ascot, we've never faced them before and on numbers they are obviously achieving very highly. We know it's not going to be easy, but the best we can do is have them in the best shape we can and go give it a crack."
Protektorat is the highest-placed British entrant in the Gold Cup betting. (Getty)
Shan Blue hasn't been seen since that crashing fall at the final flight when leading the Charlie Hall Chase by miles. Skelton has revealed his star is now back to full fitness and identified the Ryanair Chase as his target.
"He (Shan Blue) is really good, I'm super happy with him. It was a bitter pill to swallow, what happened at Wetherby, it was very disappointing as it's an important race and you'd love to win it.
"I've jumped him three times since, he's worked beautifully, we know we can have him well fresh, so he will go straight to the Ryanair."
Another horse who we haven't seen for a while is Langer Dan, who was last seen following Galopin Des Champs home in the Martin Pipe at last year's Cheltenham Festival.
"How did we run into him (Galopin Des Champs) in a handicap? It was remarkable really," Skelton remarked.
"Langer Dan is in good form, we didn't do anything in the autumn with him, he's got going now and he's going to run at Taunton on February 22. Then he will be strongly considered for the Imperial Cup and then the conditional jockeys' race again.
"We may not go to the Imperial Cup, I'll have to talk to Colm (Donlon, owner) and see what we fancy at the time. I haven't spoken to Colm to see if we'll definitely give him an entry in the Coral Cup, but he is basically aiming for the conditional jockeys' race."
The final runner under discussion was Doctor Parnassus, who will be pointed at the Triumph Hurdle following an impressive victory earlier this week.
Skelton said, "I was very happy with how he ran, he relaxed after a mile or so, jumped very well and quickened up. He was getting a chunk off older horses that weren't as good as him so it would have been disappointing to get beat, but at the same time he couldn't have won much better on the day.
"This horse, I feel, is a Triumph-type of horse because he will see the trip out well, the track is no issue, he jumps nicely, he has a little bit of class - which is always important - but he will get stuck into it. I think that gives him a squeak."
