Grey Dawning is in perfect condition for Gold Cup bid says Skelton

Dan Skelton is confident Grey Dawning is in “the best form of his life” ahead of his bid for glory in the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup.

The nine-year-old has been raced sparingly this season ahead of National Hunt racing’s most prestigious event, with a dominant comeback victory in the Betfair Chase at Haydock in November followed by a slightly underwhelming third place finish in Cheltenham’s Cotswold Chase late last month.

Skelton is adamant his charge will improve hugely for that run, however, and expects to see a different horse when he returns to Prestbury Park in little over a fortnight’s time.

Speaking at a Wednesday morning media event at his Alcester yard organised by The Jockey Club, Skelton said: “I’m very proud to call him our Gold Cup runner and it’s a very interesting race for lots of reasons.

“The race has yet to fully take shape, there could be last minute supplementary entries and all sorts, so without talking about opposition and concentrating on him, this horse is in the best form of his life.

“It was fairly obvious last year after he got beat in the very soft ground (in the Betfair Chase), getting him back that season was going to be super hard, so we took the advice from experience and everything else we had that we weren’t going to be going down the Gold Cup route. We asked him some slightly lesser questions, he was very good at Kelso and he ran a beautiful race at Aintree behind Gaelic Warrior.

“This year has been totally different. He was imperious in the Betfair, which on numbers he should have been on that ground. It was a nice run in the Cotswold Chase and there’s lots to improve upon from there.”

Grey Dawning was beaten five lengths into third place in the Cotswold Chase on Festival Trials day, but Skelton feels that defeat may actually have been a blessing in disguise.

He added: “If you remember before the race there was a bit of umming and ahing about whether we should run or not, but in the end we decided the ground was acceptable to run on and a slowly-run race was perfect as it didn’t give anyone a hard race.

“We made a mistake two out, it put us on the back foot and we then couldn’t win.

“Regardless of the outcome, it was possible to lose a Gold Cup that day, it was not possible to win one. Even if we’d gone 10 lengths clear he couldn’t have won the Gold Cup day that day, but it was very possible to lose one by having a bad experience and a hard race.

“By making the mistake two out he couldn’t have a hard race as the race had flown at the wrong point, but he stayed on really well from the back of the last and came back in relatively fresh, which meant able to put our foot down with him nearly straight away and push now up to the Gold Cup.

“He is in the form of his life, he has never ever been better and probably never will be better. Next year he’ll be a year older and this is this horse the best you will ever see him.

“We want a nice, clear round and a bit of luck and where he finishes he finishes.”

Grey Dawning is a best priced 16-1 for the Gold Cup with Ladbrokes and Coral.When asked which horse he rated his biggest threat, Skelton said: “I feel like Jango Baie weirdly, because I feel like that hill really suits him.

“There has to be a tactical element with him as it’s going to be a hard race to come from too far back in. We can presume with the quality field that this is there’s going to be half a dozen or more in contention turning in – and if you’re behind that half a dozen, it’s going to be harder than if you’re in among them.

“It’s going to be a very tight Gold Cup. Everyone is going to ride tight and it’s going to be as competitive a Gold Cup as you’ve ever seen, I think.

“You can’t let the front-runners off because they’re too good – you have to go with them. It’s going to be a real hard race, there will be no quarter asked and certainly none given.

“Grey Dawning has to display a different skillset – he has to display everything he’s got and probably more – but he’s in the best shape of his life to do that.”