Skelton considering Protektorat plans

Dan Skelton is weighing up his options with Protektorat having pulled the 10-year-old out of the Charlie Hall Chase on Saturday due to the ground.

Skelton had hoped to run his stable stalwart given he was favoured by the conditions of the race. However, after the forecast overnight rain failed to materialise, he had to change course.

Protektorat holds an entry in the Paddy Power Gold Cup, in which he ran in under a big weight last season to finish sixth, while he is also in the Coral Gold Cup a fortnight later.

“The ground was good. Good is fine, but he needs it good to soft and it wasn’t quite soft enough,” said Skelton.

“I feel a bit for the track because in my training career there’s probably only been a couple of times the ground has been good to soft or softer for the Charlie Hall.

“That’s a shame, because you’d love to be able to run all these horses, but it’s the weather we’ve got nowadays and it gives the good ground horses a chance that they wouldn’t get.

“I don’t know what we’ll do yet. He’s in the Paddy Power, but we’ll have a think.”