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Six of the best Dan Skelton horses at the Cheltenham Festival 2022

Dan Skelton

Dan Skelton has come on leaps and bounds as a young trainer and goes to the Cheltenham Festival 2022 with a host of good chances. Planet Sport counts down the best.

Dan Skelton has established himself as one of the leading young trainers in jumps racing with help from his jockey brother Harry and his equestrian father Nick.

Success at Cheltenham has been slow and steady as his Alcester stables has grown, with three County Hurdles to his name plus a win in the David Nicholson Mares' Hurdle with Roksana in 2019.

The ambitious Skelton will be champing at the bit to register more winners at Prestbury Park.

Planet Sport counts down six of the best Dan Skelton horses at the Cheltenham Festival 2022.

West Cork - McCoy Contractors County Handicap Hurdle

A race that Skelton knows inside out, having taken it on three occasions, starting in 2016 with Superb Story, then in 2018 with Mohaayed and also the following year via Ch'tibello.

West Cork goes in the competitive two miles, one furlong handicap hurdle in solid form, with a fifth at Ascot in the Betfair Exchange Trophy a reasonable build up race.
Before that, the Midnight Legend gelding won nicely at HQ in the Grade 3 Unibet Greatwood Handicap Hurdle.
Able to dig deep when necessary, Harry Skelton's experience riding the eight-year-old will be crucial in getting his nose ahead in a competitive test.

Elle Est Belle - Parnell Properties Mares' Novices' Hurdle

Belle by name and belle by nature for this talented mare who always gives punters a run for their money.

A listed win in the Ladbrokes Mares' Novices' Hurdle at Newbury in November was really eye-catching.

The six-year-old warmed up for Cheltenham with a gritty neck win in a Huntingdon listed race in February.
The Mares Novices' Hurdle looks one of the more open at the Festival and this one can be the Belle of the ball.

Langer Dan - Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle

Langer Dan would have no doubt won the test for young jockeys at Cheltenham last year if not for bumping into the uber talented Galopin Des Champs.

Langer Dan finished just two and a half lengths behind Willie Mullins' machine who is odds-on to take the Brown Advisory this term.

An Imperial Cup winner at Sandown in 2021, six-year-old Langer Dan will miss that engagement to stay fresh for Cheltenham and another crack at the Martin Pipe.
Skelton will have to put in a strong training performance to ready this one after an unideal warm-up but if any horse can do it, Langer Dan can.

Shan Blue - Ryanair Chase

Perhaps somewhat underrated in the Ryanair betting due to the presence of the odds-on Allaho, Shan Blue is a capable performer who hasn't quite given his best at the Festival.
Late October 2020 saw a purple patch and three wins in a row, including beating the Grand National fancy Snow Leopardess.
But a fifth behind Chantry House in the Marsh Novices' Chase at the Festival last year was a tad underwhelming, though the eight-year-old did finish second to the Nicky Henderson runner at Aintree afterwards.
Don't be surprised if this Skelton charge puts in a showing that leaves Allaho feeling blue in the Champion.

Nube Negra - Queen Mother Champion Chase

Skelton's Spanish raider Nube Negra was bred by Luis Alvarez Cervera and sent from Spain when he spotted a talent for jumping.
Nube Negra adapted to life with the Skeltons well, placing in the Fred Winter at the Festival in 2018 before progressing to chasing and clinching the Desert Orchid at Kempton in 2020, beating the legendary Altior in the process.
A second place in the Queen Mother Champion Chase last year showed what Nube Negra can do, going down by just half a length to Put The Kettle On.

That win came at 11/1 and a bigger price needn't put off backers this year after Nube Negra finished fourth last time out at Sandown. The win before that in the Shloer Chase at HQ was more like it and Nube Negra can have punters in the black in the Queen Mum 2022.

Protektorat - Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup

Part-owned by Sir Alex Ferguson, Proketorat is considered Skelton's classiest horse at the Festival and with a real chance of scoring in the Gold Cup.

A truly consistent type, Protektorat has barely put a foot wrong since being sent from France to Skelton's care in the Midlands.

Standout wins so far include the Grade 1 SSS Super Alloys Manifesto Novices' Chase at Aintree in 2021 where he saw off The Shunter, while a 25 length win on Merseyside last time out in the Unibet Many Clouds Chase gave an hint that Skelton had a special animal on his hands.

On the dream of taking the blue riband chase, Skelton said: "I'd love to win a Gold Cup. I think it's the pinnacle of our sport and the one that says you had the best horse on the biggest day at the best track that everyone was watching. The Gold Cup has that aura about it. To be a Gold Cup-winning trainer or a Gold Cup-winning rider, not everyone can do that."

Don't rule Dan Skelton out from doing it in 2022 with Protektorat.

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