The new National Hunt season gets underway in the early autumn each year, with all roads leading to the Cheltenham Festival the following March.
Prep work for Dan Skelton and his Shelfield Green team has been months in the making then, with all eyes on the Prestbury Park showpiece later this year.
Skelton boasts plenty of chances for success at the Festival, where he is no stranger to saddling winners, so who will be leading his squad into battle in 2024?
Galia Des Liteaux
The 2023 calendar year was a good one for Galia Des Liteaux, who won a decent chase outing in January, made a solid debut at the Cheltenham Festival in March and ended the year with another couple of decent outings at Market Rasen and Newbury.
Those perusing the ante-post Cheltenham Festival 2024 odds may have to wait until the dying embers of the meeting to see Galia Des Liteaux run, however – she holds an entry into the Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase on the Friday.
The eight-year-old will surely feature prominently in Cheltenham 2024 predictions. She’s won on faster ground and on heavy going too – the former as a top weight in that Listed Race at Market Rasen in November, so this is a horse for all occasions with plenty of upside.
Galia Des Liteaux did not have it all her own way, but her class eventually shone through in the Listed https://t.co/fXHmrL8woU Mares' Chase @MarketRasenRace @DSkeltonRacing | @harryskelton89 pic.twitter.com/XIqVif1ZJu
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) November 16, 2023
Protektorat
With two respectable Gold Cup runs and non-Festival wins on both the Old and New courses at Cheltenham, Protektorat is another jewel in Skelton’s crown.
Harshly treated by the handicapper last time out – at Cheltenham, ironically, Protektorat was a significant top-weight and only lost by three lengths to Broadway Boy in a Premier Handicap back in December.
The question for Skelton is whether to have a third attempt at the Gold Cup or instead drop Protektorat down a grade into the Ryanair Chase – the latter could offer the best chance of victory at the Festival.
Deafening Silence
This lightly-raced hurdler perhaps surprised everyone in the Skelton camp with his progress in 2023.
The bay only ran once in the entirety of 2022, but has bounced back with a bang this term with victories at Exeter and a strong Grade 2 renewal at Sandown.
The latter, under a strong ride from Dan’s brother Harry, saw Deafening Silence stay on superbly – there will be nothing quiet about the celebrations if this mercurial seven-year-old can take care of business in one of the novice hurdle races at the Festival.
Deafening Silence? Not when he wins a race like that! 👏
A dramatic renewal of the Grade 2 @Betfair Beacons Winter Novices' Hurdle 💯 pic.twitter.com/YD0TjJD0tG
— Sandown Park (@Sandownpark) December 8, 2023
Latenightpass
An outstanding point-to-pointer, Latenightpass has taken to cross country steeplechasing with aplomb.
His debut came on the Grand National course, of all places, but the eleven-year-old did not disappoint with a fourth-place finish in which he trailed the winner, Famous Clermont, by just four lengths.
Subsequent outings have yielded first and second place finishes on Cheltenham’s cross country course, so Latenightpass – despite being a latecomer to fences, no pun intended – looks to have some chance in the Glenfarclas Chase at the Festival.
Grey Dawning
Timing is often everything in sport, so Grey Dawning’s run to second on Cheltenham’s New Course in December has whet the appetite of a potentially successful campaign in 2024.
The grey finished less than a length behind winner Ginny’s Destiny in the Class 2 chase despite giving away 3lb in weight, so there are plenty of reasons for Skelton and connections to feel positive about that outing.
Off the same handicap, Grey Dawning defeated Ginny’s Destiny by five lengths back in January 2023 – that’s a handy indicator, while in November the seven-year-old trounced Gaillard Du Mesnil by nearly ten lengths at Haydock; the French horse, you may recall, won at the Cheltenham Festival last March.
As positive signs go, Grey Dawning – as well as the other Skelton horses listed here – has plenty to work with heading towards the 2024 Cheltenham Festival.
