The New Lion stars in battling Turners success

The New Lion lived up to the hype with a battling victory in the Turners Novices’ Hurdle on the second day of the Cheltenham Festival.

The six-year-old is trained by Dan Skelton and was ridden by his brother Harry, who was sporting a black eye as well as the silks of his new owner JP McManus after the Kayf Tara gelding was purchased for a significant sum of money from Darren Yates.

He was a 3-1 chance and was ridden at the rear of the pack, stalking the Willie Mullins-trained 6-4 favourite Final Demand before breaking through the field to cross the line three-quarters of a length ahead of Gordon Elliott’s The Yellow Clay.

Skelton said: “Our mouths probably ran away with us earlier this season, but he just looked so good.

“Harry gave him an outstanding ride there, so patient. It’s not a coming-of-age ride because he’s been doing it for so long, but what a great ride.

“And the horse was just phenomenal. I trusted him and going to the last, with the three of them there, I believed he’d win. I always believed he’d win.

“In my heart, it just feels like it would take a very good one to get past this horse.

“I think he could be the best we’ve had, but this is uncharted territory for me as a trainer in my own right. When I worked for Paul (Nicholls) we had all those superstars, but I haven’t had a horse who can do things like this one.

“His simplicity is his greatest asset and he’s so easy.”

The winning rider – who picked up his striking eye injury when kicked by a foal on Sunday – said: “He’s got it all. You hope one day in your life to come across a good one and he is a good one. I’m just delighted he’s come and done it on the day.

“This place is magic and it can give you anything. When you get a winner here it is special. You saw what happened here yesterday and you can easily be on the other side of it, but when you get a winner here it is special.”