Harry Skelton says the Champion Hurdle remains the target for The New Lion despite his fall in the Fighting Fifth at Newcastle on Saturday.
Speaking on Unbridled with Matt Chapman and Paddy Brennan, Skelton admitted he felt better than immediately after the race but warned: “in this game you don’t walk out with your cheeks puffed out for too long. The wheels keep turning and the clocks keep ticking – it’s all go.”
Reflecting on the race, which also saw favourite Constitution Hill fall at the same hurdle a circuit earlier, Skelton said he wanted to be “down the middle on my own getting that lead” but was left alone after Constitution Hill’s fall and had to “take the race by the scruff of the neck a little bit.” He explained the first obstacle down the back “caught him by surprise a little bit” because there is “about a mile from the last hurdle to the first down the back,” and the fence placement hid the hurdle until you had passed it. Newcastle on good to soft, he added, “is a serious emphasis on speed” and the fast run may have unsettled The New Lion, who “hasn’t been that fast down to some hurdles as he did down the straight there.”
On whether he felt he had the race in hand, Skelton said: “I felt I had a lot in my hands. When I turned into the straight I squeezed him along into the bridle a bit because I thought if I put a little bit of pressure on, that would keep his mind a bit concentrated. I felt I had an awful lot in my hands [for over the last], but sadly we didn’t get that far.”
Three jumps before the fall the horse appeared to veer left and was “an absolute mile off the hurdle,” possibly reacting to horses coming into view or pressure from behind. Skelton said the horse is “absolutely fine, we can go again and hopefully he learns from it.”
When Chapman suggested the Skeltons might never front-run with the JP McManus-owned horse again, Skelton replied he “wouldn’t say never.” He conceded that in hindsight he might have gone harder but was mindful of the long spell without a hurdle and didn’t want to set it up for others. “I go out there with plan A and if that doesn’t work you go to plan B,” he said, adding he didn’t want Constitution Hill to “get a complete freebie.”
Looking ahead, Skelton remained bullish about The New Lion’s credentials for the Champion Hurdle. “I promise you now, the one thing this horse isn’t is slow. I’ve never won a Champion Hurdle but I’ve ridden Champion Hurdle horses and they’ve got to stay seriously well. He does that, he’s got the gears to play over two miles, he stays strong and our minds are still set on having a crack at the Champion Hurdle.”
Skelton also previewed his upcoming rides. At Sandown he will ride Be Aware in the Betfair Henry VIII Novices’ Chase. After choosing to make the running when beaten by July Flower at Cheltenham, Skelton said fences “give him a chance… He’s a strong traveller. He can be keen but fences allow him to get a breather in and race better.” He felt Be Aware “can definitely win it” while acknowledging rivals Alnilam and Lulamba bring different strengths and it will be “a very different test.”
Later on the card the Lodge Hill yard run L’Eau Du Sud against Jonbon, whom he beat by 15 lengths in the Shloer Chase in November. Skelton said L’Eau Du Sud “jumps and travels” and likes to get on with things, whereas Jonbon “likes his own way a little bit.” He expects the race to be dynamic in the opening fences and admitted favourite Il Etait Temps “will be really hard to beat.”
Watch Unbridled with Matt Chapman and Paddy Brennan on the At The Races YouTube channel.