'The dream is alive' as talented My Drogo trounces Mersey rivals for Skeltons

The Cheltenham Festival will inevitably have left you feeling there is a paucity of very good young horses in Britain. Relative to Ireland that may be true but any country and any trainer would be overjoyed to a have horse like My Drogo, who left Dan Skelton ever more excited about the future when becoming a Grade 1 winner for the first time.

My Drogo's absence from Cheltenham last month was not because he was considered inadequate to the test, more that it would have been the wrong place at the wrong time of the young horse's career.

If anyone doubted that or the six-year-old's ability, they received a wake-up call in the Betway Mersey Novices' Hurdle.

Ballyadam, beaten 24 lengths by compatriot Appreciate It when second in the Supreme, on this occasion finished 43 lengths behind My Drogo, and although the Irish challenger underperformed, it is hard to believe that even in peak form he could have troubled a rival who positively tanked into contention under Harry Skelton.

The successful rider was quick to express concern for Harry Cobden, who was taken to Aintree Hospital after suffering a fourth-last fall from Lucky One, following which he was kicked by My Drogo. There was absolutely nothing Skelton could do about that, nor anything My Drogo's opponents could do to get near him in the closing stages.

"When you think he only made his racecourse debut in October, it's remarkable what he has done," said the younger Skelton of the Richard and Lizzie Kelvin-Hughes homebred, who will now enjoy a summer holiday before returning in the winter as a novice chaser.

"Rome wasn't built in a day but if we mind him then one day he could hopefully repay us with big things," added the rider. "Going over a fence should improve him again. The dream is alive."

My Drogo and Harry Skelton jump the final flight in the Mersey Novices' HurdleCredit: Edward Whitaker

His brother has absolutely no reason to stop dreaming.

"I felt relief after winning this race," said Dan Skelton. "He is a very, very good horse. Next season we'll start low-key over fences over two miles, probably not until November, but ultimately we want to build up to going down the staying chase route.

"He went off 50-1 for his bumper and I couldn't understand why as we always thought he was a pretty good horse. He is very exuberant at home, always doing more than necessary, so you have to turn the dials down, not up. The team has done a great job with him."

Reflecting on Ballyadam's tame effort under Rachael Blackmore, Henry de Bromhead wondered aloud whether moving up to two and a half miles had been a problem.

"Rachael thought he flattened out more than anything," he said, adding: "He was obviously a little disappointing but you would have to question the trip as well."

Race result and race replay

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