It’s that time of the year again. The period when punters across the entirety of the United Kingdom and Ireland are deep in the form guides, on the hunt for winners at the Cheltenham Festival. Recent results at meetings like Warwick, Newbury, and the Dublin Racing Festival at Leopardstown will give those looking for tips the best indication yet on who could prevail at Prestbury Park in just a matter of days’ time.
Of course, the big races across the four days are where the punters really want to boast to their mates about picking the winner, and that includes day one’s Arkle Challenge Trophy Novices’ Chase. At the time of writing, the Nicky Henderson-trained Shishkin is leading the way in the Cheltenham betting, with Willie Mullins’ Energumene (9/4) closing in on him after winning the Irish Arkle at the aforementioned Dublin Racing Festival.
Gordon Elliott’s unbeaten Envoi Allen is also in the mix at 3/1. However, trainer Dan Skelton is brimming with confidence ahead of the race after Allmankind extended his winning run with a victory in the Kingmaker Novices’ Chase at Warwick mid-way through last month.
The five-year-old was the odds-on favourite heading into the Grade 2 race, and despite going on to win by a rather large 17 lengths over Sky Pirate, it was far from an ideal run from Allmankind. The unbeaten chaser’s jumping was untypical of his usual standard, and there would have certainly been moments where Skelton watched on through his fingers as his horse approached fences, especially as he was somewhat lucky to stay on his feet after striking the penultimate jump.
Luckily, he was five lengths clear of Sky Pirate when he hit the second-last fence, and after taking the final jump fluently, and with his competitors weakening in the run-in, Allmankind was able to extend his margin of victory to 17 lengths.
Despite the poor standard of jumping on show from the five-year-old, Skelton, who blamed the ground for the uncharacteristic run, is confident ahead of the Arkle. “I was happy with the result but on the way round it was a little concerning,” the trainer said. “The reality today is the ground is very testing and he seemed to get stuck in the jumps a little. You can't be asking for too many big jumps on this ground and that's why he couldn't quite get into the rhythm that he so often does.
“To my eye he showed a great attitude from the back of the last to get stuck in and get his head down. Today I've learned he can get himself into some unusual jumping positions but can still get himself out of them. A little bit better ground in four weeks' time will suit him and I have no concern about his suitability for that race, but we are taking on two monsters – no doubt about that.”
The victory, which was Allmankind’s third win on the trot, has resulted in the five-year-old’s odds being slashed slightly, but it will be a big step up for the Skeleton-trained horse to compete with the likes of Shishkin and Energumene, who are stealing the spotlight in the Cheltenham tips, at Prestbury Park.
However, it would be foolish to rule him out, and Skelton made a fair point when he added: “You only find out where you are against these horses when you take them on, and I don’t see any chinks in this lad’s armour just yet.”
