Skelton full of Cheltenham hope with ‘grafter’ Protektorat

‘He puts it all in, which gives me positive thoughts for a Gold Cup’.

Dan Skelton is confident Protektorat is in the form of his life as he prepares to take on the formidable Irish contingent in this year’s Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup.

The seven-year-old, who is part-owned by Sir Alex Ferguson, has not been seen in competitive action since readily accounting for the now-retired 2018 Gold Cup hero Native River in Aintree’s Many Clouds Chase in December.

Skelton has resisted the temptation to give his charge another run during intervening period, instead electing to keep his powder dry for the day that matters most.

Protektorat is the only British-trained horse at single-figure odds for the blue riband and Skelton could not be happier with how his preparation is going with less than three weeks to go.

“He looks fantastic and I’m very, very happy with him,” the trainer said at a press morning at his yard on Monday.

“Interestingly, of the four Festival winners I’ve had only one has run in the same calendar year and that was Roksana, who desperately needed a run to get ready for the Mares’ Hurdle.

“I don’t know how he compares to the very top Grade One chasers as we haven’t taken them on. All you can take is what you saw at Aintree and I don’t think that was a fluke.”

Protektorat will be going into unknown territory over an extended three and a quarter miles in the Cotswolds, but Skelton is optimistic his stamina will stand up to the test.

Protektorat on the gallops
Protektorat on the gallops (Zac Goodwin/PA)

He added: “I don’t have any personal doubt about the Gold Cup trip, but you can never be 100 per cent certain until you’ve been there and done it – One Man and Florida Pearl will tell you that.

“I was delighted to take him to Warwick the other day, just to take a bit fizz out of him.

“He loves to run, he loves to jump and I hope he stays all day and gives us a right chance in a Gold Cup – I don’t see any negatives.”

Having spent several years as assistant to multiple champion trainer Paul Nicholls before going it alone, Skelton is better placed than most to know what is required to claim Gold Cup glory.

During his time at Ditcheat, the 36-year-old saw his boss win three successive renewals between 2007 and 2009, with Kauto Star prevailing twice either side of Denman coming out on top.

“When I worked for Paul you had two different types of Gold Cup winner,” said Skelton.

“You had Kauto Star who was exuberant and would look fantastic on the gallops every day, and then you had Denman who was totally different type of horse as he didn’t have the same natural pace.

“Protektorat is a grafter. He puts his head down, his knees come up and he puts it all in, which gives me positive thoughts for a Gold Cup.

“He won’t mind getting dirty. If it turns into one of those gritty Gold Cups, I won’t be afraid to have him there.”

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