Harry Skelton: my ten to follow this Jumps season

Kabral Du Mathan goes novice chasing. Last year we stepped him up in trip as the season went on. We tried three miles at Cheltenham and it was evident that he didn’t stay the trip. We never really saw him as a Champion Hurdle horse as every time he had run over two miles he had been beaten, so we thought it was necessary to step him up in trip last year.

That said, I think we can start him off over two miles over fences, as it’s very different to two miles over hurdles. He’s schooled nicely and we’re looking forward to getting him started. Hopefully he can end up in those proper graded chases in the spring. He’s a horse with a lot of ability and I think he’s very exciting going chasing this season.

Bossman Jack goes over fences. He improved all through last season, and hopefully he can do the same over the larger obstacles this campaign. He ran very well in the Turners at Cheltenham and had he not made a mistake at the last, I think he would have gone a lot closer to winning. He improved again and went on to win a Grade One at Aintree.

I think we can start him off over two miles and then we’ll step up in trip. He’s a horse with a lot of ability and everything comes very easily to him, which is always nice to see. We’ll start off in a novice chase once the rain arrives, and hopefully he will contest all the top novice chases this season.

She only had one run for us last year, when finishing second in the Champion Bumper. She showed good form in France before coming to us and is obviously a filly with a lot of ability.

I’m really excited about her going hurdling. She’s schooled nicely, and I think she should go on most ground, but she probably wouldn’t want it to be very soft. We’re looking forward to starting her off over hurdles and then hopefully having a good spring campaign. 

He didn’t do a lot wrong last season in what was his first year over hurdles, and got some really good runs under his belt. It was frustrating to get beaten at Aintree when all the hurdles were taken out, but that’s water under the bridge now. He went on to run very well in the Supreme at Cheltenham. Getting bumped at the finish didn’t really help him when he was coming there to challenge for the win.

He’s only a five-year-old, so hopefully he’s got progression to come. I’m not sure where he will start off yet, but it would be fantastic to think we could head down the Champion Hurdle route with him.

Forthfactor didn’t do anything wrong in his bumpers last season, finishing off with a win at Aintree under our amateur Heidi [Palin]. 

He’s a horse that I haven’t ridden in a race yet, but I think having a hurdle in front of him will only help him. He’s an athletic horse that goes on pretty much any ground and stays two miles well.

We’ll start him at two miles and then see if he wants to go up in trip. He does race quite enthusiastically, so time will tell us if he needs to go up in trip. The fact he stays two miles so well is a very good asset to have. He’s one for the proper spring races, either at Cheltenham or Aintree.

She won the mares’ bumper at Aintree. She stays really well and has a great attitude. Everything comes naturally to her and she’s a very laid-back mare. Any big events she turns up at, she tends to take them very well.

It would be nice to see her end up in the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham and that is hopefully where we’ll be aiming her come the spring.

Getawhisky is a mare that we’ve always really liked. We fancied her quite a bit in the Mares’ Final at Newbury and she came there cantering and looked like winning, but she didn’t get home over two-and-a-half miles. 

I think she’ll be best suited to two miles over fences. She’s already better physically this year than she was last year. She’s schooled quite well over fences already, so we’re just waiting to get her started. I think fences will be the making of her and hopefully she can take high rank in the mares’ novice chase division.

Diamond Street won at Doncaster and then ran well in a Listed bumper at Newbury last year. I think he will be a really nice staying novice hurdler for the season. I’m sure he will start off over two miles and then probably step up in trip as we head into the new year.

He’s a big, strong horse who will definitely get two-and-a-half miles into the spring. He’s improved physically for his summer holiday, he jumps really well, and hopefully he is one of the better novice hurdlers.

Soldier Reeves ran some very good races last season, at Cheltenham and then again at Aintree. I think we might stay over hurdles with him. I can see him improving again this season and come the spring he could be a Stayers’ Hurdle horse.

He’s got to improve a few pounds to get there, but I think that’s in him. He was a lot more sensible with the way he was going about things at the end of last season, as he was quite headstrong when he started off.

He learned plenty through last season and did quite a lot in a short space of time. He’s a big horse that I think should get the three miles, and hopefully he’s a bit of a darker horse who should improve to be one to contest those big staying three-mile hurdles.

Emid’io Pepe only had one run for us last season in a handicap hurdle at Aintree, and he ran very well to finish a close fourth. We liked what we saw from him there, and he’s done well over the summer.

He has schooled nicely over fences so far, and I think he will improve for going chasing. I think there’s plenty of room for improvement on his hurdles form. I think he’ll do well over fences and hopefully in the spring he could develop into a graded novice chaser.