Skelton closing in on national trainers' title
THE curtain comes down on the season at Stratford Racecourse on Thursday afternoon when Shelfield Green based Dan Skelton will be crowned leading trainer at the course for 2017, writes David Hucker.
Skelton has an unassailable lead in the annual competition sponsored by wine merchants Bordeaux Undiscovered to win two cases of wine for the leading stable. Despite drawing a blank at the first two meetings in March, Skelton was in double-winning form at the third meeting at the beginning of April and has headed the table ever since, notching up a total of 11 winners in all at the course.
In what could become a career-defining season, Skelton also leads the national trainers’ championship, having won the opening race on the first day of the 2017/18 campaign at Warwick in May and taking his score to 83 with the win of North Hill Harvey at Cheltenham last Friday. Importantly, with the trainers’ title being decided on prize money, rather than winners as with the jockeys’ crown, Skelton passed the £600,000 mark and is already nearly halfway towards equalling his last season’s total of £1,329,107.
But, the gap to Paul Nicholls in second place is narrowing and, with Skelton needing every winner that he can get to stay ahead, he has just three entries on today’s six-race card. First of them is former Irish point-to-pointer Shannon Bridge in the opening Rio Gold Syndicate Maiden Hurdle, followed by Royal Beekeeper in the Watch Racing Replays At racinguk.com Conditional Jockeys' Selling Hurdle and Solomon Grey, beaten just a neck on his last run, in the British Stallion Studs EBF "National Hunt" Novices' Hurdle (Qualifier).
However, Nicholls has four entries in the opener, including Secret Investor, who went off favourite to make a winning debut under Rules at Ascot a year ago but, after taking the lead two flights from home, couldn’t see off the challenge of Kimberlite Candy, who was subsequently bought by leading owner JP McManus and franked the form when winning again at Newcastle on his next run.
Skelton’s friend and local rival, Olly Murphy, has been another to make his mark at the course this year. Formerly assistant to top Irish trainer Gordon Elliott, he announced his arrival when scoring with his very first runner Dove Mountain at Brighton on 4 July and made the headlines again when sending out four winners in a single day three weeks later.
Knight Commander set the ball rolling when winning with champion jockey Richard Johnson at Newton Abbot and Murphy followed up with a Stratford treble to complete an afternoon to remember for the Wilmcote handler.
He has seven entries today, as he looks to build on his seasonal total of 16 winners, including dual scorer The Geegeez Geegee, who is in both the day’s feature race, the Class3 Charlie Longsdon Racing Handicap Chase over two and a half miles, and the J.H. Rowe Memorial Handicap Chase over a slightly longer trip.
Of his four entries in the Conditional Jockeys' Selling Hurdle, Mizen Master would have the best chance at the weights and, if turning out again after finishing down the field in a much more competitive race at Cheltenham six days ago, looks the one to keep the winners flowing.
There are 13 entries in the Charlotte Cole Memorial Novices' Chase over two and three-quarter miles including Agreement, who tried to make all the running at the last meeting, but was headed approaching the last fence. That was a handicap and he raced from a mark of only 88 so, at level weights, would have a lot to do if some of the better class horses are declared.
Ballyoptic, fifth over hurdles on his first run of the season, was rated at 162 at his best and could prove too good for his rivals here if taking to the bigger obstacles.
