Tag Archive for: The New Lion

Harry Skelton powering ahead in Jockeys’ Cup quest

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Despite sporting a nasty black eye, Harry Skelton made it safely through the Cheltenham Festival with his David Power Jockeys’ Cup lead intact, leaving him determined to close out the competition and claim the £500,000 first prize.

A Turners Novices’ Hurdle victory on The New Lion and several placed efforts at Prestbury Park, plus Saturday’s Uttoxeter strike on Hidden History, has put Skelton 78 points clear of Harry Cobden at the summit, with Nico de Boinville a further 22 points back in third.

“There are only three days left in the David Power Jockeys’ Cup. I’ve got a decent lead of 78 points and hopefully I’ve made it difficult for the guys behind to catch me,” said Skelton.

“I still need to pick up a few points, though, and I’ll be going all out to do that at Newbury and Aintree.”

Skelton’s brother Dan also remains in pole position to secure a first British jump trainers’ championship, with a lead of over £700,000 on his nearest challenger Paul Nicholls.

Nicky Henderson is in third place and Willie Mullins moved up to fourth thanks to 10 winners at Cheltenham, but both missed out on opportunities to do more damage at the Festival.

Star Sports ambassador Harry Skelton commented: “Dan’s in a great position going into the final few weeks of the season. We should have a good team going to Aintree and Ayr, but there’s still plenty of money on offer, so we need to keep the foot down and hopefully get across the line.”

The future also looks bright for both siblings, with The New Lion set to be aimed at next year’s Champion Hurdle following his impressive Prestbury Park triumph.

“I’ve always had a lot of belief in this horse – he’s just a bit different to the other novices I’ve ridden,” added Skelton.

“You don’t see the speed he has on the track at home really, he shows it where it matters.

“He got a lovely tow into the race behind Paul (Townend) on Final Demand. He travelled and jumped great, and once I switched him out he stuck his head out and battled on really well. He’d never had to do that before but it was nice to see that he can tough it out.

“A lot of horses who have won the Turners in the past have come back in trip and gone on to a Champion Hurdle. We hope he can do that and he’s certainly not a slow horse.

“It’s really exciting going forward. He’s done plenty this season, so we’ll put him away now and then make a plan for next season over the summer.”

Skelton not doubting Lion’s heart for a Festival fight

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The New Lion and Final Demand put their unbeaten records on the line when they go head to head in the Turners Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham on Wednesday.

The New Lion won a Market Rasen bumper on his solitary start last season before being switched to timber for the current campaign.

He has taken that in his stride and is three from three for Dan Skelton this season and was so impressive when he won the Challow Hurdle at Newbury in December that he was snapped up by JP McManus and will be making his debut in the famous green and gold hoops at Prestbury Park.

After those three victories without serious challenge, Skelton was asked if he would have liked to have seen The New Lion have more hard-fought battles in readiness for the Festival.

He replied: “No, not really! That other side to him is there – don’t you worry!

“The season has gone beautifully. We really liked him before he ran in his bumper and obviously we liked him even more after. When we started schooling on the grass in the autumn he just did some things that other horses couldn’t do at that point.

“I don’t know why. His brain, his ability – it was all there to see. He’s just got it and it’s hard to explain why he has it and others don’t, but he just has that relaxed, easy way about him. We love him.”

Asked if he could see The New Lion becoming a future Champion Hurdle contender, Skelton replied: “I don’t want to be one of those who puts the cart before the horse and start worrying about next year in a presumptuous manner, but I can see him coming back in trip. I don’t ever see us going to three miles unless results dictate that that’s the only way we have to go.”

After cantering home in a point-to-point, the Willie Mullins-trained Final Demand has barely had to get out of first gear in comfortably winning at Limerick and the Dublin Racing Festival.

Mullins has one eye on the larger obstacles with the Walk In The Park gelding, but is targeting the Grade One prize before turning his attention to chasing.

The master of Closutton said: “Looking at him, he looks a real chaser. He must be 17.2, he’s as strong as any horse I’ve had. Strength wise, he probably looks more like Florida Pearl, he’s so strong through the body whereas Galopin Des Champs is a very different type of horse, he’s much more evenly balanced through the body and a lighter-framed individual.

“This fellow is a big unit and I’m happy to do that (the Turners) before going novice chasing next season.”

The Yellow Clay will also be putting an unbeaten record over hurdles on the line following a victory at Down Royal, plus a pair of triumphs at Navan and another success at Naas.

The Gordon Elliott-trained son of Yeats was sixth of 19 on his only previous visit to Cheltenham in the Champion Bumper last season, and the trainer said: “He’s not flashy and probably doesn’t get the attention he deserves.

“He ran very well in the Champion Bumper last year and was second in Punchestown. He’s four from four over hurdles, he knows how to win and he’s got a good attitude. He’s a horse I like.

“You’ve got the Skelton horse that looks good and Willie’s horse that beat Wingmen (Final Demand). The Yellow Clay beat Wingmen, so on form there’s not much between them.

“The Yellow Clay showed a bit of boot from the fourth-last to the second-last which I was happy to see. Going into that I thought he might be a three-miler, but he showed that bit of speed that good horses need to win.”

Potters Charm has two victories and a silver medal from three previous trips to Cheltenham and assistant trainer Willy Twiston-Davies said: “I’m hoping he will be back to his best and his work has been good, but you never know until you get to the course.

“He’s had a good bit of racing this season, but his last piece of work was good.”

The New Lion and Final Demand star in Turners battle

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The New Lion and Final Demand will face off in the Turners Novices’ Hurdle, with a field of 11 declared for Wednesday’s opener at Cheltenham.

Dan Skelton’s The New Lion has won each of his three starts this season, with his impressive Challow Hurdle victory prompting leading owner JP McManus to splash the cash and add him to his squad.

Harry Skelton, who rides The New Lion, said: “We’ve always believed in this horse since day one and I think what he did at Newbury was obviously really impressive. We’re very happy with him and I think the drying ground is going to be a big help and there are no negatives.

“People mention the stats about the Challow winners at Cheltenham but I think it’s nonsense. Normally the Challow is run in very testing conditions and horses haven’t got over that race by the time they get to Cheltenham.

“But there is one thing me and Dan said would happen is that if it was soft to heavy ground at Newbury, he wouldn’t have run. It wasn’t the case, it was good to soft, he bolted up and we’ll see this week if he can do the same.

“He’s as good as we’ve had as a novice hurdler, he’s done everything right and we think he will handle the occasion. We have plenty of respect for Final Demand, but I wouldn’t be swapping our horse for anything.”

Final Demand laughed at his rivals at the Dublin Racing Festival and will have plenty of supporters as he looks to give Willie Mullins a fourth successive winner of the race.

Mullins also runs Kaid d’Authie, Kappa Jy Pyke, Kel Histoire, Kiss Will and Supersundae, while Gordon Elliott has also stuck to his plan and declared The Yellow Clay rather than wait for the Albert Bartlett.

The champion trainer holds an extremely strong hand in the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase with four of the seven runners.

Ballyburn is a hot favourite with stablemate Dancing City his main market rival. Lecky Watson and Quai de Bourbon also go for Mullins with Elliott fielding last year’s Albert Bartlett winner Stellar Story and Better Days Ahead. Henry de Bromhead’s Gorgeous Tom completes the field.

There are 18 in the Weatherbys Champion Bumper with Mullins responsible for five with Copacabana, Gameofinches, Sortudo, Aqua Force and Bambino Fever.

A full field has been declared for the Coral Cup with Maxxum heading the weights.

The ante-post favourite is Be Aware for the Skeltons, with Harry Skelton saying: “We’ve just been waiting until the spring, to be honest, since finishing second in the Greatwood. He’s fresh and I think he’s got a big chance. Hopefully the step up in trip will suit him really well and I think he’s unexposed as well.”

The Skeltons also bring back last year’s winner Unexpected Party for another crack at the Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Challenge Cup Handicap Chase.

Harry Skelton said: “The only problem is he’s 6lb higher this year, but he’s really turned a corner now it’s spring. He ran well at Windsor and he’s taken a big step forward since then. He’s definitely got a chance and I think the drying ground will suit him.”

Joe Tizzard’s JPR One carries top weight having swerved the Queen Mother.

There is also a full field for the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase with Stumptown, Galvin, Vanillier and Mister Coffey all declared.

No looking back for Skelton, just a determined focus on getting better

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You would have to be fairly hard-hearted not to feel some sympathy for Dan Skelton when Willie Mullins snatched the trainers’ championship away from him in the final throes of last season.

It took a huge effort from the Closutton giant, who after dominating Cheltenham was still over £700,000 behind Skelton but won both the English and Scottish Grand Nationals to become the first Irishman since Vincent O’Brien 70 years earlier to wear the crown.

Skelton, understandably, was crestfallen, but rather than feel sorry for himself, he endeavoured to throw everything at it once more and went on to build up a sizeable lead in the summer, setting Mullins an even tougher target this season.

With Skelton well on his way to £2.5million in prize-money already, Mullins is way back on less than £200,000.

But these days, the latter is almost guaranteed eight to 10 Festival winners it seems, and with Galopin Des Champs a long odds-on favourite to win a third Gold Cup, he will soon be eating into the lead.

Dan Skelton with The New Lion, one of his big hopes
Dan Skelton with The New Lion, one of his big hopes (Joe Giddens/PA)

“We’re ahead of where we were last year and we’ve just got to keep the ball rolling. If we have an average March and April, that should be enough – let’s hope for at least that,” said Skelton.

“I’m not nervous about it, what I’m nervous about is well-being. As long as the team stays healthy, we’ve done all we can and hopefully the results will bear that out.

“Going in saying we have to win this or that much prize-money is out of your control, the one thing we can control to a good degree is that they stay on track.”

Skelton had a fantastic four winners at the Festival last year, headlined by Grade One scorers Grey Dawning and Protektorat, and while the former is not going back this time, the latter holds a solid chance of a repeat in the Ryanair.

The New Lion, L’Eau Du Sud, Be Aware, Take No Chances and Valgrand are others among a team the Alcester handler feels is even stronger this time around.

He said: “It’s frightening to say that it’s better, isn’t it? But you can’t just say that because it’s better, then you’re going to have five winners because you had four last year. That’s just highly presumptuous – you can’t do that.

L'Eau Du Sud is second favourite for the Arkle
L’Eau Du Sud is second favourite for the Arkle (Joe Giddens/PA)

“I never thought we’d have four winners last year and I was rude enough to think that our best chance was on the Friday and that got beat (L’Eau Du Sud in the County Hurdle). We had four going into Friday and I thought we were definitely having five, but that’s our sport and that’s how it is.

“I think we’ve got the best team we’ve ever had, but whether that bears out in the results is a different matter. I think time will tell you this is the best team we’ve ever had from results beyond today.

“You can’t do it without the horses – you cannot make up quality or ability. When you are analysing form on a race-by-race basis, you can have a horse that likes the ground and loves the track, but if there is another horse in the race that is 10lb better, you are not going to beat it, realistically. Quality is massive.”

Although Mullins has proved to be a thorn in Skelton’s side, he is full of admiration for his big rival.

“What sets Willie apart is talent – his talent and that of his horses. We can all get them fit and Willie’s are super, super fit. It is going to be so hard to surpass Willie while he has the flow of talent that he has,” said Skelton.

Dan Skelton (left) with Willie Mullins
Dan Skelton (left) with Willie Mullins (Mike Egerton/PA)

“What we have taken from that is we need to make our own relationships and purchases from a supply chain – we can’t go to his. We need to make our own – that’s what we’re doing and I think that’s reaping the rewards.

“You can’t do that over a month or two years or five years – it’s over lifetimes that you build those connections and that’s what you’re starting to see now.

“We’re starting to see more and more of those really good horses. We’re really happy with where it is, but we think it can get better.

“Quality is huge, but we’re always changing what we do at home as well. Protektorat’s a great example. Last year, we changed things halfway through the year and we started getting different results.

“We’re never afraid to change things up. We’ve changed facilities, we do things differently to try to get a positive result. Sometimes you get a negative result and you have to go back to where you were, but we’re never afraid of failure – because if you’re afraid of failure, you never make a decision.

“The hard thing now is the position we’re in, we have to have a winner because if we don’t, you guys (the media) will say ‘they didn’t have a winner and they should have’, because realistically we should. We’re one of the bigger teams and we should.

“It’s new territory for us, that new reality that actually failure can be measured, whereas before when you’re only starting and you’re coming up through the ranks, it’s your successes that are measured, not your failures. Now, when you get further up, your failures get measured more than your successes!”

Final Demand and The New Lion on Turners collision course

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All of the big names have stood their ground for the main supporting races on day two of the Cheltenham Festival, which could open with a mouthwatering clash between Final Demand and The New Lion.

The dominant duo in the Turners Novices’ Hurdle market stepped up to Grade One level in style on their respective last starts, with the latter since snapped up by leading owner JP McManus after impressing for Dan and Harry Skelton in the Challow Hurdle.

Final Demand – who is also entered in Friday’s Albert Bartlett – is one of 11 possible runners in the Turners for Willie Mullins, but Kopeck Des Bordes was missing from the list of confirmations, meaning the runway is clear for him to take his place in the opening day’s Michael O’Sullivan Supreme Novices’ Hurdle.

Potters Charm has plenty of Cheltenham experience
Potters Charm has plenty of Cheltenham experience (Nigel French/PA)

Gordon Elliott’s The Yellow Clay and Nigel Twiston-Davies’ Potters Charm are others heading into the race with a Grade One victory over hurdles already to their name, while Fergal O’Brien’s Sixmilebridge claimed the scalp of Potters Charm on Festival Trials day and could get his handler off the mark at the meeting.

Mullins again holds a significant hand in the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase, with previous Festival winner Ballyburn, Dancing City, Lecky Watson and Quai De Bourbon all possibles for the Closutton handler.

Elliott has confirmed both Martin Pipe scorer Better Days Ahead and last year’s Albert Bartlett winner Stellar Story, with Henry de Bromhead’s Gorgeous Tom strengthening the Irish hand.

However, both of the remaining British-trained entrants, Rebecca Curtis’ Haiti Couleurs and Joe Tizzard’s The Changing Man, look to have handicap assignments on day one in mind.

The Mullins battalion again dominates the 25 remaining in the Weatherbys Champion Bumper, with market leaders Gameofinches and Copacabana both standing their ground, but French import Kopeck De Mee is a notable name missing from the Coral Cup.

There are 26 left in the Grand Annual, including the Skelton-trained defending champion Unexpected Party, but Evan Williams’ Libberty Hunter and Joe Tizzard’s JPR One could both feature 40 minutes earlier in the BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase.

Gavin Cromwell’s Stumptown is among 24 still standing for the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase along with stablemate Vanillier, while the typically strong hand from Cullentra House could include last year’s Grand National fourth Galvin and Grade One winner Conflated from seven confirmed in Elliott’s name.

‘I love everything about him’ – The New Lion ready to roar at Cheltenham

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There was a glint in Dan Skelton’s eye as he paraded his star novice hurdler The New Lion in front of the assembled press at his yard near Alcester on Friday.

Unbeaten in a bumper and three hurdle races, including the Grade One Challow at Newbury, he made such an impression that leading owner JP McManus splashed out to add him to his team for the Cheltenham Festival.

While he also holds an entry in the Tuesday’s opening Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, the longer Turners on Wednesday is his aim unless the ground is testing.

“As you can see he looks outstanding. This horse’s coat, I have to say, is one of the most forward of all of our horses. He looks great and I love to see him bright like this,” said Skelton.

Dan Skelton with The New Lion
Dan Skelton with The New Lion (Nick Robson/PA)

“I took him to Huntingdon the other day for a canter round and a day out. But this is what I love about him – that energy. He’s happy, he’s healthy, he’s bright. I love all this about him.

“When we took him to Huntingdon, he was like this when we got him off the lorry. He walked round the paddock full of exuberance and happiness. He’s never a horse that pulls in a race and he’s never a horse that pulls in work. He’s never going to boil over and do it the wrong way. I just love to see him looking so well.

“He’s going to be going on the Wednesday unless the ground was very soft or heavy in which case we could switch to the Tuesday, but the reality is he’s going to be going on the Wednesday.

“I love him. I love everything about him. I love his attitude, I love the trainability about him. You ask Harry (Skelton, brother and jockey) – he loves the way he is to ride and if you want go inside you can go inside, if you want to go outside you can go outside, if you want to go a bit quicker you can go a bit quicker and if you want to go a bit slower then he does that as well. He can do it all.

“Those good horses have that big day attitude and big day mentality.”

Of The New Lion’s rivals, Skelton said: “I’ve got a lot of respect for The Yellow Clay but he’s a shorter price for the Albert Bartlett. I’m not worried about them with him. He’s a good horse. What will be will be. If we get beat then we get beat, but I’m super happy with this horse.”

Skelton managed four Festival winners last year and Protektorat will aim to repeat his victory in the Ryanair Chase.

“He’s so tough this horse. Last night he started with an infection in his off hind, but you wouldn’t even know there’d been a problem this morning,” Skelton said at an event organised by the Jockey Club.

“That shows you how tough he is, I was worried he wouldn’t be on show this morning, but he’s absolutely fine. I can’t tell you how tough he is.

“He’ll head back to the Ryanair and I think he’s got a great chance. Early in the season he had a lot of weight in the Paddy Power Gold Cup and he might not have been as fit as I thought he was and then I always knew we were going to get in a row at Huntingdon going right-handed. I hoped it would be different but maybe we rode him wrong, who knows.

“I think Il Est Francais will run in this, as a sportsman, and I’m not just saying this because it would suit me, I’d like to see him in the Champion Chase going full bore. He’ll be hard to beat and so will Fact To File, but I’m sure they’re looking at us thinking we did nothing wrong at Windsor and we’ll be hard to beat.”

L’Eau Du Sud has been unbeaten in four since switching to fences having gone close in the County Hurdle last season, and Skelton believes he will be a tough opponent for hot favourite Majborough in the Arkle.

“He’s done nothing wrong over fences, he’s four from four and I always expected him to be a much better chaser than hurdler. Although to be fair, he was useful over hurdles being placed in some big handicaps like the Betfair and the County – I still don’t know how he got beat in that. Even though we had four winners, when it came to the Friday I thought he was our best chance of the week,” said Skelton.

“He’s gone chasing and hasn’t looked back. He’s got course form, if it’s soft he can cope but if it’s better all the better, he can drop in or make the running – he’s just very versatile. There’s nothing I don’t like about his chance in this race

“He’s a good enough hurdler to win an Arkle. We’ve had Arkle runners in the past who weren’t good enough over hurdles to win an Arkle. This year we’ve got Majborough who was a Grade One winner over hurdles, so we need to be a good hurdler to have a chance of winning and I think we were just good enough.

“I’ve a lot of respect for Majborough. I really like our horse, I don’t want to say he’ll win, but I think he’ll make it a lot closer than the prices make it look.”

L’Eau Du Sud’s chance has been made marginally easier due to Sir Gino missing the race, though.

“If I’m being honest, I wouldn’t say I was starstruck but that was as good a performance as you could see from a horse first time over fences (from Sir Gino at Kempton), what Sir Gino can do in front of a jump is unusual, he can almost move his feet independently,” said Skelton.

“He was so, so good, but he’s not there and hopefully he’s OK long term and he gets his chance another day.”

Grey Dawning remains unlikely to take up Gold Cup option

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Dan Skelton insists Plan A with Grey Dawning is still to head to Kelso and Aintree rather than take on Galopin Des Champs at Cheltenham – but nothing is set in stone.

The trainer’s championship leader had high hopes for last year’s Turners Novices’ Chase winner this season, but in two runs thus far he has failed to add to his winning tally.

Following a disappointing effort in the King George, when his fate was sealed by an early mistake, Skelton initially ruled out a tilt at the Gold Cup, stating he would prefer to go to Kelso for the Premier Chase before heading to Aintree for the Bowl.

At the latest forfeit stage, however, Grey Dawning – who enjoyed a racecourse gallop in company with some high-profile stablemates at Huntingdon on Thursday – did appear among the remaining Gold Cup contenders.

“I was delighted with Grey Dawning, I thought he looked very balanced up the straight (at Huntingdon),” Skelton said at Warwick on Saturday.

“I know the Gold Cup could be a small field and I don’t want to be one of them which has added to that, but my intention at the moment isn’t to go, even though I’ve left him in.

“Plan A has always been to go to Kelso and Aintree with him, but we left him in just in case. Horses are coming out but Galopin Des Champs isn’t, he’s the horse to beat and he looks in the form of his life.

“I’m not saying we’re deliberately avoiding him but we’ve got a very productive spring to come and if we go to the Gold Cup, that is the only race he can run in – doing the others, he can run in two, get more experience and we’ll see if he is a Gold Cup horse for next year.

“His form to this point this year has been slightly below Gold Cup level, as a form judge can see. We’re realistic and the main thing is to do what is best for the horse, so we’ll just keep an eye on it all.”

Also in action at Huntingdon was Skelton’s big hope in the novice hurdling division, The New Lion, purchased by JP McManus since his last run.

“The New Lion looked amazing, his form keeps getting franked but it is going to, they’ve all met each other and he is just where I want him,” said Skelton.

“These horses are not going to fly up the straight in their gallops, we’re prepping them for their biggest day, but I’m really happy with how it is going with him.”

Harry Skelton looking forward to next chapter with The New Lion

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The New Lion’s first run in the silks of his new owner JP McManus is likely to be at the Cheltenham Festival in March, with Dan and Harry Skelton “delighted” he is staying in their Warwickshire yard.

The six-year-old is unbeaten in a bumper and three hurdles starts, most recently landing the Grade One Challow Novices’ Hurdle at Newbury in the manner of a very talented performer.

He was at that stage owned by Darren Yates, who named him as a nod to his former star Blaklion, but is now intending wrap up his racing interests.

McManus acquired the Kayf Tara gelding following his Challow success and intends to keep him with Dan Skelton, who will now turn his attention towards the Cheltenham Festival for the gelding’s next run.

Remaining in the saddle will be the trainer’s brother, Harry, who said in his blog for Star Sports: “We’re delighted that we’re going to keep him in the yard after Darren’s decision to sell him.

“We’re very much looking forward to his future and hopefully he is lucky for JP.

“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 One 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, with stepping up to three miles for the Albert Bartlett less likely. We’ll see what suits him best, but it looks like the two-mile five-furlong race (Turners Novices’ Hurdle) is his most likely destination at this stage.

Rising star The New Lion snapped up by JP McManus

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Challow Hurdle hero The New Lion has been sold to JP McManus, with previous owner Darren Yates stating his intention to leave racing at the end of the season.

The six-year-old has won each of his four starts for Dan and Harry Skelton, with a debut victory in a Market Rasen bumper in the spring followed by a hat-trick of wins over hurdles.

He was hugely impressive when successfully graduating to Grade One level at Newbury over the festive period, giving Yates and his wife Annaley their first taste of top-level success.

Yates has invested huge sums in buying racehorses, most notably spending £620,000 on Interconnected, who failed to win a race afterwards.

However, in a deal that appears to have been brokered by fellow owner Paul Byrne – who has previously sold several of his own horses to McManus – Yates has decided to let go of his prized asset.

Detailing the reasoning behind the decision on Nick Luck’s Daily Podcast, he said: “At the start of the season, Annaley and I made a decision really that we were thinking of getting out of racing altogether.

“Different things in our lives, grandkids – times change. But when I spoke to Dan (Skelton) about it, he said ‘look, for the first time ever, you’ve got a superb team. You’ve got the likes of The New Lion and Cherie d’Am. You could sell them all now in a dispersal, but you’re not going to get the value’.

“I said ‘OK, I’m prepared to crack on’, and obviously that was a risk as well, as a horse is only a day away from getting injured. I said to Dan ‘let’s try to make a target of trying to win a Grade One’ and he said he thought it was definitely achievable with the ammunition we’ve got.”

The New Lion was a brilliant winner of the Challow Hurdle at Newbury
The New Lion was a brilliant winner of the Challow Hurdle at Newbury (Steven Paston/PA)

Yates revealed the decision to sell The New Lion to McManus has been in the works for some time and that he gambled on him winning a Grade One to maximise his value.

“I’ve been very loyal to Dan and he’s been amazing – him, Harry (Skelton) and the whole team. And if any of my horses went to the sales, you don’t really know where they end up,” Yates continued.

“This developed because Paul Byrne, who is a very good friend of mine from Ireland, he was really badgering me after The New Lion won at Chepstow. He loved the horse and asked if I would like to sell him, I said I’d like to continue and see if we can win a Grade One. He said that was a big risk and I said it was my risk.

“What I do know from being in racing myself is you can’t buy a good horse like this – they just don’t exist. Or if they do exist, they never come up for sale.

“Paul came to me again, as he really believed in the horse, as I did, and I think from what I see, he has an amazing relationship with JP. I think JP is a very private man, there’s a lot of trust there with Paul and I said this would be private between us if we do a deal.

JP McManus has bought The New Lion
JP McManus has bought The New Lion (Lorraine O’Sullivan/PA)

“One of the things I asked Paul to speak to JP about was that Dan would carry on training and that Harry would carry on riding. JP, as a gentleman, said that wouldn’t be a problem moving forward.

“Without Paul Byrne, the deal wouldn’t have happened. I wasn’t really interested in going to the sales and I like the way it’s happened.”

While The New Lion will be carrying the green and gold silks of McManus going forward, Yates revealed he retains a ‘bonus interest’ in the son of Kayf Tara, who is expected to head straight to the Cheltenham Festival in March.

He added: “The deal massively suits JP and massively suits me. I’m not going to go into it obviously, because JP wanted to keep it private, which is great with me, but it does give me an interest in the horse moving forward as well. Let’s call it a bonus interest, depending on what he does in the future.

“I think JP was happy to do that and I was happy to do that. Even if I didn’t have a kicker, I’m not the type of person who’d sell a horse and want it to do badly – I’m desperate for him to win at Cheltenham.”

Yates still owns several other horses with Skelton, including the high-class mare Cherie d’Am, who is bound for the Grade Two Trustatrader Hampton Novices’ Chase at Warwick on Saturday.

However, she too looks set to go on the market at some stage, with Yates citing the treatment of owners as one of the major factors in his decision to leave the sport.

“Because I’ve sold The New Lion, by the end of the season I’ll be out totally,” he said.

“The experience of the day is amazing and winning a Grade One was amazing, but they’re very short-lived when you look at all the other things you have to put up with in racing.

“I think the owners are never looked after properly. I would think once I’m out, I’m out.

“You spend a lifetime looking for a horse like The New Lion, but I just don’t see the value in it – I’m not sure where the sport will end up.”

The New Lion roars in brilliant Challow performance

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The New Lion proved himself an exceptional novice hurdling prospect with a facile success in the Coral Challow Novices’ Hurdle at Newbury.

Trained by Dan Skelton, the unbeaten five-year-old was a course winner on his previous start, building on his earlier win over timber at Chepstow.

Sent off at 9-4, Harry Skelton was content to watch on from midfield as outsider Electric Mason led them, along with the strong-travelling Bill Joyce who was always in his slipstream.

Harry Cobden on Paul Nicholls’ 5-4 favourite Regent’s Stroll was a little further back and both the Ditcheat contender and The New Lion edged closer into contention as the runners moved into the straight.

However, it was the Skelton charge that the eye was drawn to as The New Lion moved up menacingly to tackle Electric Mason and Bill Joyce at the last and the exceptional youngster barely broke sweat as he cantered home under a motionless pilot.

Jamie Snowden’s Wendigo kept on past beaten horses for second, with Regent’s Stroll unable to enhance his trainer’s fine record in the race coming home in fourth.

“He was very good, we’ve always liked him and hoped he would have a performance like that in him – it was just great to see,” said Skelton after landing the final British Grade One of the year and capping a stellar 2024 for his string.

Happy connections with The New Lion
Happy connections with The New Lion (Steven Paston/PA)

“He’s done very well since winning his novice hurdle at Newbury during the Coral Gold Cup meeting and has just sharpened up a lot since then. We thought we had him better, he goes round very professionally and I just like the way he does everything really.

“At the same time of his life, My Drogo was very impressive. My Drogo was very fragile and wasn’t the easiest to train, but this horse, he is just a very unassuming horse at home with bundles of ability and you have to say he’s as good a novice hurdler that we’ve had.”

The New Lion is likely to remain over an intermediate trip for a Cheltenham Festival bid in the spring, with Paddy Power making him a 4-1 chance from 12s for the Turners Novices’ Hurdle at Prestbury Park in March.

The New Lion was confidently ridden by Harry Skelton
The New Lion was confidently ridden by Harry Skelton (Steven Paston/PA)

Skelton added: “I’d say we will stay at this distance, but I would have no fear in dropping back in trip. I know he sees it out well, but he isn’t a slow horse.

“I probably won’t even enter him over three miles at the Festival and we’ll take a view closer to the time, but if I was only allowed two entries it would be over two miles and two and a half rather than two and a half and three.”

Confirming the Cheltenham Festival will be next, he continued: “We’ll just have him as ready as we can for March now.”