Protektorat (FR)

After race at Cheltenham Thu, 14th Mar, 2024 (1st)  We’ve been trying the Gold Cup trip because we’ve been trying to make it happen, it’s the race the owners would most like to win. We dropped him in and he finished third and we rode him more aggressively and he finished fifth. He wasn’t hitting the Gold Cup standard this year, so we’ve come for this and I thought Harry gave him a supreme ride. When Envoi Allen came upsides us I thought he’s danced this dance a lot of times and maybe we’re booked for second, but then going to the last I thought we’d found a bit more, maybe that’s that stamina that we’ve been filling him with for the last few years. It’s a massive family thing and the work that the staff put in is phenomenal. I don’t know what the magic dust was this week. What’s going on here is what we all try to do, it just very rarely happens. The Ryanair Chase is one of the biggies. Grey Dawning is a Grade One novice with a lot to look forward to and with the handicappers you’ve got to place them well, but this is one of the grails isn’t it?. Two Grade Ones at Cheltenham on one day, it doesn’t happen. Dan Skelton

After race at Aintree Thu, 8th Apr, 2021 (1st)  I didn’t expect that to happen. I said to the owners, who also had Hitman in the race, that today was a short-term plan to get a long-term result next year. I thought he’d run creditably, but I didn’t expect him to win. It’s a long way back from Kelso, where he was beaten after the second jump — he was jumping right-handed and didn’t want to be there. We mixed things up today — taking the hood off, putting the tongue-tie on and redoing his palate. That’s him done for the season now. I was thinking of starting him off back here in the Old Roan, but if the ground is right, maybe we’ll go straight to Wetherby for the Charlie Hall. It’s brilliant to have owners back. They’ve been so patient through this difficult period, but they’ve stuck by us and hopefully they’re here to stay now. Dan Skelton