Le Milos Carrying Skelton Hopes Into Battle At Haydock
Victory for Le Milos in the ₤ 100,000 Unibet Middle Distance Veterans' Handicap Chase at Haydock would be extremely welcome for Dan Skelton, as he valiantly tries to fend off the may of Willie Mullins.
For the 2nd year in a row Skelton has actually seen a sizeable advantage in the fitness instructors' title race rapidly reduce, after Mullins controlled at Cheltenham, took the lion's share of the ₤ 1million on deal in the Grand National and then had the one-two in last weekend's Scottish National.
Races with this amount of prize-money - with ₤ 51,440 for top place - far from the huge conferences are rare, and with Mullins not having a runner, it is a great chance for Skelton to pull away before the Closutton maker rolls into Plumpton and Perth over the next few days.
Three runs ago Le Milos won in veterans' company and having been out at Newbury and Aintree because, ought to find life a little easier against horses more his age.
"We ran him at Aintree as we were trying to find someplace where the ground would be best for him," said Ladbrokes ambassador Skelton.
"The ground up here will be no problem; he's won on excellent ground before, and he's in excellent form.
Le Milos won the 2022 Coral Gold Cup (John Walton/PA)
"He's running well, and obviously won at Warwick versus the veterans, and this is the first time he's been back against the veterans since that day. Hopefully he's one of the players in this league and he can go well here."
Skelton is currently 3-1 with Ladbrokes to claim a first title after keeping Mullins (2-9) at arm's length through the week.
Last year's winner Numitor is back for more for Heather Main.
The grey has actually delighted in a fine season this term too, winning 3 of his five outings - consisting of last time out at Ascot - however that means he is practically a stone higher in the weights.
"Numitor is truly well. This has actually been our aim the entire season and he is to go," stated Main.
"Ascot last time wasn't the plan but it wound up being his preparation race for the last on Saturday.
"We didn't understand if he would remain and while he had run on quicker ground, with a huge horse like him you are never rather sure. But in the end he liked the ground and he enjoyed 3 miles. Hopefully that run wasn't too close but he required a prep run because there had actually been a little bit of a gap considering that he last ran.
"Although he has actually run primarily in smaller sized fields, I do not think field size is essential to him as long as he gets into a rhythm. He enjoys racing and he likes leaping - he just pings them which is what he is all about."
Regarding the additional weight Main stated: "It doesn't fret me excessive although I don't want to be overly confident. He is such a huge horse and we feel the bigger they are, the more they have the ability to bring the weight. I hope that proves the case on Saturday."
Joe Tizzard runs both Eldorado Allen and The Widow Maker, Henry Hogarth's Flic Ou Voyou shows up on the back of a win while Dubai Days (Nick Alexander) has been intended at this all season.