“We’re delighted" - The New Lion to stay with the Skelton's after £1m purchase
The New Lion, recently victorious in the Challow Hurdle at Newbury, has been bought for £1m by JP McManus. Despite speculation, McManus is keeping the horse with Dan Skelton. Skelton is thrilled about The New Lion's future prospects, with plans to enter him in the Cheltenham Festival's Supreme and Turners Novices' Hurdle. The horse's impressive Newbury performance validated Skelton's faith in his potential as a Grade 1 champion. The decision to keep him in Warwickshire is a relief for Skelton, who anticipates continued success.
- The New Lion sold to JP McManus for £1m after Challow Hurdle win
- Despite purchase, The New Lion remains with trainer Dan Skelton
- Plans to enter the Turners Novices' Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival
The New Lion will stay with Dan Skelton, despite being bought for £1m by leading Irish owner JP McManus.
McManus swooped to purchase The New Lion following his victory in the Challow Hurdle at Newbury. That Grade One usually turns into a war of attrition, but not this year, as The New Lion swept his rivals into touch with Harry Skelton virtually unmoved in the saddle.
His then owners, Darren and Annaley Yates gave a delighted interview after that ITV success, claiming their young gelding was destined for greatness. Yet, barely a week after that success, Yates accepted a six-figure offer for his star from JP McManus, before announcing his intentions to leave the sport of horse racing.
After that purchase became public, some questioned whether McManus would opt to send The New Lion to Nicky Henderson or even bring him over to Ireland. JP has horses with Willie Mullins, Gordon Elliott, Gavin Cromwell, and most of the other leading trainers in Ireland. McManus also supports many British trainers, and the Skeltons were relieved to hear that The New Lion would be remaining in Warwickshire for the foreseeable future.
“We’re delighted that we’re going to keep him in the yard after Darren’s (Yates) decision to sell him,” Harry Skelton told the press this week.
“We’re very much looking forward to his future and hopefully he is lucky for JP (McManus).
“He did everything that we hoped he would do at Newbury. We could never have dreamed he would do it as impressively as he did but myself and Dan always believed in him and we always thought he had the makings of a Grade 1 horse, so it was great to realise that belief in the Challow.
“He’ll head to Cheltenham now and he’ll probably have entries in both the Supreme and the Turners."
Following his victory in the Challow, The New Lion was slashed into 11/4 favouritism for the 2025 Turners Novices' Hurdle, which opens the card on day two of the Cheltenham Festival. Skelton's top novice can be backed at 25/1 for the Supreme and 20/1 for the three-mile Albert Bartlett which, according to Skelton, is the least likely of his three options.
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