Dan Skelton

CHELTENHAM, UK -- On a day of high winds and even higher stakes at Cheltenham, it was Heart Wood (Choeur Du Nord) who best withstood the challenge to run out a wide-margin winner of the Ryanair Chase, Thursday's Grade 1 feature which lost much of its lustre when defending champion Fact To File (Poliglote) was withdrawn at the eleventh hour. Beaten nine lengths behind Fact To File when filling the runner-up spot 12 months ago, Heart Wood took full advantage of that rival's absence to make a deserved breakthrough at...

Racing Welfare has called on the racing industry to get behind two major fundraising events for 2026.  The Racing Welfare Brecon Beacons 10 Peaks Challenge and the return of Racing Come Dancing at Epsom Racecourse offer two very different routes to getting involved, but both ask the same question. Could you take on a challenge that pushes you, connects you to others and helps fund vital support across racing?  Together, these flagship events play a critical role in enabling Racing Welfare to deliver its services. The charity is not government...

Fresh from sending out four winners at Cheltenham's November Meeting, Dan Skelton issued another statement of intent in his quest for a first British trainers' championship when revealed as the new trainer of the two most expensive lots sold during Monday's opening session of the Arqana Autumn Sale. In the space of three lots, the three-year-olds Mets Ta Ceinture (Hunter's Light) (lot 380) and Merci Mam (Karaktar) (lot 378) sold for an aggregate sum of €1,230,000. Both horses went through the ring following the decision to dissolve the partnership between...

A record price for a store sold anywhere in Ireland this year, combined with a record number of 38 lots sold for €100,000 and above, were among the highlights at this year's Tattersalls Ireland Derby Sale, which concluded on Thursday. The sale topper was lot 338, the Walk In The Park gelding out of the smart racemare Posh Trish (Stowaway), who went the way of trainer Dan Skelton and Ryan Mahon for €285,000 to cap a successful sale for John Dwan's Ballyreddin Stud and Katie Rudd's Busherstown. On Wednesday, the...

Grand National-winning owner John Hales has died at the age of 85. The owner of Neptunes Collonges (Fr), who landed one of the tightest finishes to the National in 2012 when beating Sunnyhillboy (Ire) by a nose, was associated with a string of great jumpers, including another special grey, One Man (Ire). The latter was one of three Queen Mother Champion Chase winners for Hales, along with Azertyuiop (Fr) and Politologue (Fr), and recently he had extended his racing interests to a successful partnership with fellow leading owners Sir Alex...

Le Fauve (Fr) (Masterstroke) (lot 2), who was runner-up on debut, changed hands for €105,000 during the Auctav Flash Sale on Wednesday. He was purchased by Anthony Bromley of Highflyer Bloodstock on behalf of an owner of trainer Dan Skelton. A half-brother to two winners, the son of Grenadines Island (Fr) (Bonnet Rouge {Fr}) was trained by Joel Boisnard. "I bought this horse for an owner of trainer Dan Skelton, where the horse will go into training," said Bromley. "Benoît Gicquel, our agent in France, was present in Bordeaux for...

The winners of the 2021 Lycetts Leadership Award, the Lycetts Team Champions Award and the Farm & Stable Award for Innovation & Wellbeing were announced by the National Trainers Federation (NTF) on Thursday. Listed below are the winners of the three awards: Lycetts Leadership Award: Dan Skelton Lycetts Team Champions Award: Richard Phillips Racing Farm & Stable Award for Innovation and Wellbeing: Eve Johnson Houghton Dan Skelton is the first winner of the Lycetts Leadership Award that was inaugurated this year and is designed to shine a light on and...