Skelton: Protektorat "will be hard to beat" on Sunday

Dan Skelton is confident Protektorat is the horse to beat in the Fitzdares Fleur de Lys Chase after the defending champion headlined nine entries for Sunday’s feature event at Windsor.

Second to L’Homme Presse when the race was held at Lingfield in 2024, he went one better at its new home 12 months ago, impressively accounting for Djelo by 23 lengths.

Skelton feels his now 11-year-old stable stalwart is primed to perfection ahead of one of the Winter Million weekend’s main attractions and said: “He’ll turn up for the Fleur de Lys and in a weird quirk of the system he doesn’t get a penalty.

“The likes of Handstands and others who turn up might have to give him a penalty. It’s a weird scenario to be in.

“He’s in great form. We trained him specifically for the race and we couldn’t be happier with him.

“I know he’s not getting any younger, but his enthusiasm for the game is just phenomenal. He’s been brilliant for us and whoever wins will (have to) beat him, I’ll tell you that now. He’ll be hard to beat.”

Protektorat will not be the only veteran in the line-up for the two-mile-six-furlong affair, with 12-year-olds Eldorado Allen and Jungle Boogie entered by Joe Tizzard and Venetia Williams respectively, with Paul Nicholls’ 10-year-old Hitman also among the older generation.

At the other end of the scale is the Ben Pauling-trained Handstands, a Grade One-winning seven-year-old who has some amends to make after letting down odds-on backers on his return at Carlisle before coming home last of four finishers in the Betfair Chase.

Resplendent Grey beat him at Carlisle and could try to confirm the form for Olly Murphy, while Salver could be a fascinating challenger for Gary and Josh Moore, having won one of his three chase starts so far and coming up against leading Cheltenham hopes Lulamba and Kitzbuhel in his other two runs.

Matata, who was victorious at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day for Nigel and Willy Twiston-Davies, and Skelton’s likely outsider Heltenham complete the list.

Jamie Snowden’s impressive Newbury Listed winner La Conquiere features among 11 possibles for the Berkshire Winter Million Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle, with Skelton’s Listentoyourheart possibly seeking a big-race double at Windsor in the Weatherbys Racing Bank Handicap Hurdle having won at the track on New Year’s Day.