Skelton happy to have likes of Grey Dawning on his side in David Power Jockeys’ Cup race

Current David Power Jockeys’ Cup leader Harry Skelton is confident that targeting the most winnable races with his brother Dan’s stable stars will lead to a good second half of the 2024/25 season – and help him land the top prize of £500,000.

Skelton, who tops the leaderboard on 232 points – 28 clear of second-placed Sam Twiston-Davies – with 10 weeks of the competition to run, explained that picking the right opportunities will prove crucial over the coming months.

He told Sporting Life in the first of their David Power Jockeys’ Cup podcast series: “Grey Dawning will probably head to Kelso for the Premier Chase and then on to Aintree for the Bowl.

“His owner wants to run him the race that we think he is most likely to win.

“Tom Messenger, our assistant who has a big role to play in the operation, he rides him every day, he knows the horse inside out, and we just feel that the best chance we have is at Aintree.

“He had a hard enough race on very testing ground in the Betfair Chase at Haydock and then it was all over very quickly in the King George.

“If that had gone differently, we might have carried on with the Gold Cup dream, but unfortunately this year we won’t be.”

Similarly, Country Mile, an impressive winner at Cheltenham in December, will likely head to Scotland next rather than join stablemate Valgrand in the County Hurdle.

“Country Mile – you can put a line through his last run as he ran him too quickly on poor ground – might head to Kelso for the Premier Hurdle and then to Aintree, like Grey Dawning.”

However, the Skeltons will still head to the Cheltenham Festival with a strong team, hoping to build on their best-ever tally of four winners which they picked up 12 months ago. The yard is currently leading the trainers’ championship thanks to over 130 winners and more than £2million in prize-money.

Skelton explained that reigning Ryanair champion Protektorat will head straight to the Festival – “he’s come out of Windsor really well” – and will be joined by leading Arkle hope L’Eau Du Sud, another horse who includes Sir Alex Ferguson among his owners.

Unbeaten in three starts over fences, L’Eau Du Sud was an impressive winner of the Betfair Henry VIII Novices’ Chase when last seen at the start of December.

Skelton said: “L’Eau Du Sud will run in the Kingmaker at Warwick and then on to the Arkle.

“Sir Gino and many others will make sure that it won’t be as easy as when he won at Cheltenham in November, but he’s the best we have and hopefully he will have a chance.

“Even if we are second to Sir Gino then I’ll pick up 10 points in the David Power Jockeys’ Cup and all the points are welcomed!”

On their team of handicappers, Skelton also provided positive updates on Unexpected Party, who will head back to the Grand Annual that he won 12 months ago, and Be Aware who will step back up in distance in the Coral Cup.

“Be Aware will go straight to the Coral Cup. I think he’s got a big chance stepping back up in trip,” said Skelton.

“We’ve kept him at two miles this year as he’s a bit headstrong and can be a bit keen and he didn’t have much experience.

“He’s the type of horse who could blow his race if getting a bump, he’s quite highly-strung. But hopefully now he’s learnt a bit more and I think he will go well.”