Shan Blue delights Skelton in Warwick workout

Next stop Ryanair Chase, while big-name stablemates also please.

Shan Blue is on course for the Ryanair Chase at the Cheltenham Festival after pleasing Dan Skelton in a racecourse gallop after racing at Warwick on Friday.

The talented eight-year-old appeared to have the Charlie Hall Chase at his mercy and was 15 lengths clear when falling at the third-last at Wetherby in October.

Last season’s winner of Kempton’s Grade One Kauto Star Novices’ Chase suffered stiffness and soreness in his neck after the fall and Skelton took the decision to give him plenty of time to recover.

“I’ve been totally happy with him,” said Skelton.

“He is in good form and really enjoyed his little away-day up the road. He is a young horse and after he suffered the fall and had a bit of stiffness in his neck, we just wanted to do the right thing by him.

“So, having discussed it with his owner Colm (Donlon), we decided to back off him and get him ready for the spring festivals.

“His future is in front of him and you can see him having a long career over fences.

“We simply wanted him to be 100 per cent right when he runs again and I’m totally happy with him.

“He is still on course for the Ryanair Chase and I would think Aintree will be the next stop if he comes out of it OK. As always, we’ll take it step by step.”

Skelton worked four other horses at his local track, and all are heading to Cheltenham.

“I was really happy with him – I was delighted with all of them, to be honest,” he added.

“We took Protektorat, Nube Negra, West Cork and Too Friendly along with Shan Blue. They all only have one entry at the Festival and I could not have been more happy with all of them.

“They are all on course for their respective targets.”

Nube Negra is on target for the Queen Mother Champion Chase after working at Warwick
Nube Negra is on target for the Queen Mother Champion Chase after working at Warwick (Tim Goose/PA)

The quintet were in action after a day’s racing that was boosted by a crowd of 3,695 – up from 2,169 on the corresponding fixture in 2019 – who took advantage of the GBP 5 entry fee.

Warwick have continued to buck a trend, with attendances at the track up year-on-year since a decision was taken to revert to jump racing only.

General manager Andre Klein said: “It has been a cracking day. We have had brilliant attendances since we resumed racing in September. Each meeting has eclipsed pre-2019 figures.

“Even the likes of Kingmaker Day eclipsed 5,000 people, which was miles in front of previous years, which is really positive.

“We have the same team in place who have been working on promoting Warwick as venue and I think the fact we have gone exclusively National Hunt has only seen positive things for this track.

“It has also helped having Dan Skelton and Olly Murphy on the doorstep of the course, which has boosted the profile of jump racing locally.

“The principal driver is that we work really hard to merge with the community and be part of the community in and around Warwick. The vast majority of the racegoers are strolling in on foot.

“We are also fortunate that we have 13 pubs in about 800 metres of the racecourse gates. It is a stone’s throw into the centre of the town and it is brilliant location for a day out.

“You can book some accommodation, come to the races and then walk into town after the races.

“We have put our prices up this year, as a whole, yet we have still seen a higher attendance, but the key is making sure the experience matches the price and we work very hard on ensuring the customer experience is good.

“Hospitality has been sold out every single day since we started – every restaurant, every box – we have not had a gap on our hospitality on any given day.”

He added: “The team genuinely care about the sport and we are all passionate about horse racing first and foremost, but when we run a promotion like ‘Fiver Friday’, it is so well received.

“If they have a good experience on a day like this, then hopefully many will return.

“We have had five years of continual growth and we are bucking a trend. I think it is down to a really good team, who are enthusiastic about their job. Not everything always goes right, but the guys here work hard at it.”

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