Midlands-based trainer Dan Skelton has made an impressive start to the 2024/25 Jumps season, as he has already reached the 50 winners’ mark. Last season’s Trainers’ Championship runner-up looks set for a big campaign.
One of Skelton’s latest successes came at Warwick when Lady Jago won a maiden contest for the Lodge Hill trainer. Skelton is a regular at Warwick, Stratford and Uttoxeter, three courses which are near his stables in Alcester, and a large chunk of winners over the summer have come from those venues.
Showcase Meeting Approaching
The Showcase Meeting at Cheltenham is a fixture many horse racing fans in Birmingham look forward to each year. It is the opening meeting at Jump Racing’s HQ, and it takes place over two days.
Skelton will be hoping to carry his form into the meeting at Prestbury Park. There are two valuable handicap chases that the Midlands handler will be targeting on day two in Gloucestershire. If he were able to win one of those two contests, he may extend his lead at the top of the British Trainers’ Championship standings.
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Riskintheground rises to the challenge! ��<a href=”https://twitter.com/harryskelton89?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@harryskelton89</a>’s charge makes it three on the bounce, denying Dripsey Moon in a thriller at <a href=”https://twitter.com/UttoxeterRaces?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@UttoxeterRaces</a>… <a href=”https://t.co/pFDiAv5rfk”>pic.twitter.com/pFDiAv5rfk</a></p>— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) <a href=”https://twitter.com/AtTheRaces/status/1807398304755446180?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>June 30, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>
Riskintheground is a horse that Skelton will be considering for The Showcase Meeting. He has won four of his last six outings and is now up to an official rating of 133. That mark may be enough to qualify for one of the class two handicaps which are worth over £30,000 to win the winner.
Threat Likely to Come from Ireland Again
Skelton and the other leading British trainers will be expecting a strong challenge from Willie Mullins again this season. The Irishman was named British Champion Trainer last season, with the two biggest races of the campaign, the Cheltenham Gold Cup and Grand National both going his way.
Mullins will be targeting all the leading British meetings this season. Galopin Des Champs is expected to return to the Gold Cup where he will defend his crown, while I Am Maximus will be bidding to become just the second horse after Aintree hero Tiger Roll to defend his crown in the Grand National in the last 50 years.
The Champion Trainer added to his stables during the summer with some exciting horses from France. Arguably the pick of those is Willy De Houelle. The Listed winner looks like his best chance of winning the Triumph Hurdle this season if he can replicate his form from France to the racecourses in the UK and Ireland.
Jamie Snowden Tipped to Have a Big Year
Another trainer who has come out of the blocks well in the 2024/25 National Hunt season is Jamie Snowden. Many pundits believe he is going to have a lot of success at the major meetings in the latest campaign.
Snowden is a trainer backed by many owners, including RaceShare. He trains Golden Maverick for the syndicate, a four-year-old gelding who is set to feature over hurdles this season. You can buy shares in a racehorse today with RaceShare, including Golden Maverick, who was a five-time winner on the Flat before switching codes.
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>��Tom & Nicola Allan Wedding Day Handicap Hurdle��<br><br>Back to back wins for Bucko’s Boy.<br><br>�� Bucko’s Boy<br>�� Thirtyfourstitches <br>�� Glinger Flame <a href=”https://t.co/Ns6mgo4NXA”>pic.twitter.com/Ns6mgo4NXA</a></p>— Stratford Racecourse (@stratfordraces) <a href=”https://twitter.com/stratfordraces/status/1697302773648302089?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>August 31, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>
Former Stratford winner Bucko’s Boy is a horse which could help Snowden have graded success this season. The nine-year-old prevailed in impressive fashion at Worcester over the summer and he may be set to step up in class before the year is out.
The 2024/25 National Hunt season ends on the 26th of April, just three weeks after the Grand National at Aintree.
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