'I'm going there with plenty of optimism - he may just slip under the radar'

Dan Skelton began the core season in electric form when Protektorat strolled to victory in the Betfair Chase and the big winners flowed afterwards, with Le Milos, Ashtown Lad, Midnight River and West Balboa carrying valuable handicaps back to his Alcester base. A fourth Cheltenham Festival winner would cap a memorable season and the trainer is assembling a select team, determined to make his runners count.

"We’ve got some nice chances," he says. "It’s appropriate that Protektorat is trained for the Gold Cup because he was third in it last year and he has loads of class, but what’s becoming harder to do is make a square peg fit in a round hole. If your horse isn’t mentally ready to go there, it’s the wrong thing to do. Normal rules still apply and you can do it only if it’s the right thing to do. 

"There’s no chance we’ll be sending horses there for a day out. It’s hyper-competitive and no-one reports on the horses who don’t suit the place. You can have some of your best days ever at Cheltenham but you can also have some of your worst because it’s a hard track."