‘He is possibly the best ever’: Five talking points from Dan Skelton’s season

In the interview with stand-in host Jane Mangan, Skelton was grilled on a wide range of subjects following a season that saw him fend off Willie Mullins having twice finished behind the Irish supremo. But it was Mullins' compatriot who received the greatest praise.

Here are five talking points: 

On Aidan O’Brien: “Aidan’s attention to detail, the speed of his brain is fantastic. He is the best, possibly the best ever. He only taught me what he wanted me to know, though!”  

On ‘Operation 244’, Skelton’s bid to break Martin Pipe’s number of winners in a season: “If we don’t do it this year we will do it in the future. We all know where we are going.” 

On when he knew the title was his: “At the end of January I thought we had it, we won nearly £1 million in November and December was good, and then it was similar in January. We were setting Willie a question that he had to answer. And Gordon [Elliott] was doing the same in Ireland which helped us massively.” 

On his relationship with stable jockey brother Harry: “He is more of a shouter than me, but he’s critical to the operation. It’s based on trust – I don’t speak to him on how he’s going to ride the horses. Sometimes I’ll ask what he’s going to do, just so I know!” 

On Social Media criticism: “It’s disgusting. We are professionals, doing our best, with families. How do you think your family would think of what you’re doing? It’s water off a duck’s back for me, but it’s not acceptable. The BHA needs to be strong, 100 times stronger.”