Can Langer Dan bounce back at the Festival?

Trainer Dan Skelton enjoyed his best-ever Cheltenham Festival haul in 2024, registering four winners at the Cotswolds showpiece to take his overall tally into double figures.

The Warwickshire-based handler would come agonisingly close to being crowned champion trainer in Britain for the first time last spring, but missed out narrowly as Willie Mullins gained an historic win.

Skelton will be priming his team once more for the Cheltenham Festival from March 11 to March 14 and two-time Coral Cup winner Langer Dan is set to be amongst them.

Langer Dan stunned everyone with a return to form in the Cotswolds last March, but can he do it again?

Coral Cup repeat on the big day

"This horse just knows how to do it on the big day." That was the assertion from trainer Skelton after seeing Langer Dan become the first repeat winner in the 31-year history of the incredibly competitive Coral Cup handicap.

Langer Dan won the race by a head in 2023, defeating An Epic Song off a mark of 141. A year later he was back in the Cotswolds with the same rating after a disappointing winter campaign of struggles. He duly returned to his best, coming clear by three-and-a-half lengths from Ballyadam to score in style.

After his win in 2023, Langer Dan went up to an official rating of 147 and four poor runs later he was back down off 141 for his Cheltenham return last season.

This time around, he's rated much higher, currently perched on 158 and seeing little in the way of leniency from the assessor given his exploits in the past.

Grade 1 form in the book

Following Cheltenham last spring and from his increased mark, Skelton set Langer Dan new challenges.

He had his first outing in Grade 1 company at Aintree and ran a stormer in finishing third behind Impaire Et Passe and Bob Olinger in the 2m4f Aintree Hurdle, beaten by just a nose and a short head.

He had another joust with Impaire Et Passe at Sandown in late April, but was more decisively beaten by the Mullins inmate on that occasion.

Those three efforts last spring, from mid-March to late April will be what his supporters are keen to remember when Langer Dan takes aim at the major prizes this season.

Stayers' Hurdle bid in store

Given his inflated handicap mark, another tilt at a Cheltenham Festival handicap this season is improbable, leaving the Stayers' Hurdle as his most likely option.

Langer Dan has had just one crack at three miles in his career, on his seasonal comeback this term at Newbury in November when finishing third of four as Strong Leader won the Grade 2 Long Distance Hurdle.

He was beaten by 12-and-a-half lengths there and has beaten just one rival in subsequent wide-margin defeats at Cheltenham on New Year's Day and Windsor later in January.

His run at Aintree last season showed Langer Dan has the quality to compete at elite level when he is on song and his ability to switch off in his races gives him every chance of staying three-miles.

He's trading in around 20/1 for the Stayers' Hurdle on Thursday March 13, with Skelton and owner Colm Donlon no doubt hoping he can be firing on all cylinders again.

Spring time to shine again?

Langer Dan is the proverbial spring-time horse. Many have jested in Skelton's direction when it comes to his ability to have this horse on top form for the spring campaign, but the formbook is overriding in signalling that it really is the only time to weigh in behind Langer Dan.

Since he finished sixth in the 2020 Boodles Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle at Cheltenham, Langer Dan boasts form figures in the months of March and April showing 12B111132.

He was brought down at the second flight when favorite for the Martin Pipe at Cheltenham in 2022 and duly won at Aintree three weeks later.

Away from those months, he is unplaced in 14 starts in that same time-frame, often beaten out of sight in the cold winter months.

Can he do it again? This will be his toughest test to date with the likes of Teahupoo to contend with in the Stayers' Hurdle, but he is far from exposed at the extended trip and Team Skelton will hope he can bring his A-game once again as the days start to lengthen.