Dan Skelton Sunday runners blog: 'It won't stop us from having a go'

Dan Skelton has ten runners on Sunday, October 12 at Chepstow. He previews them all in his latest Ladbrokes ambassador blog.

• Deep Purple - Chepstow - 13:32 race odds

• Settle Down Jill - Chepstow - 14:07 race odds

• Doyen Quest - Chepstow - 14:42 race odds

• Listentoyourheart - Chepstow - 15:17 race odds

• Riskintheground, Frere d'Armes, Jet Plane, Harper's Brook, Unexpected Party - Chepstow - 15:52 race odds

• Cooltobecareless - Chepstow - 17:02 race odds

We start on Sunday with Deep Purple in the Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Chase, and he's been running well without winning over fences. Three-mile-two isn't going to be an issue for him, I don't think, and this was the best ground we could find at this moment in time. We're keen to get a run in before he heads to the sales though. 

We've then got Settle Down Jill in the Mares Hurdle - she finished second the other day at Market Rasen, potentially bumping into one there, because the winner won very easily in the end. That run won't be lost on her, though, but at the same time she's not hiding anything; she is what she is. Maybe there's a bit more in her when we go over fences, but she hasn't got a penalty here, and maybe that makes her a main player here, along with the fact she's in good form and has a run under her belt.

Doyen Quest runs in the big Novices' Chase, and obviously we're taking on Blueking d'Oroux who is a quality horse l, the likes of whom we're yet to take on. It's going to be hard to face him at level weights, given what we've got to find in our handicap mark, but we have won over fences, and we had a run at Worcester the other day... that recent run will be a positive for us here I think. But like I say, we've got plenty of respect for the favourite who is going to be hard to beat... it won't stop us from having a go though.

We've then got Listentoyourheart in the Welsh Champion Hurdle, and I'd give her an each-way chance here for sure. She's in good form and she'll like this type of ground. The track is no issue; she's good fresh and at the early part of her season. I think we'd have to give her a fair squeak. She's OK-handicapped - and we'd like to see some improvement this year. She was pretty prolific in Novices' Hurdles last year at the start of the season, so this time of the year is good for her.

We've got five runners in the Handicap Chase: Frere d'Armes doesn't look well handicapped at the moment, I'm afraid. I think the handicapper needs to relent a little; he won Hunter Chases, not Gold Cups, and I think the handicapper has perhaps overdone those victories. 

Harper's Brook probably needs slower ground than this, but the track should be in good condition for him. Again, though, I don't think he's very well handicapped, but he always gives us his running.

We've then got Jet Plane, who actually ran really well at Worcester the other day. I don't think he's actually the best-handicapped in the world either, but the one thing he does do is try extraordinarily hard. So I'd say he could run well here... he's who Harry [Skelton] has gone for, just based on the fact that he's had a run under his belt, and he's perhaps got the least to come down in the handicap, if that makes sense. 

Riskintheground is also in this one - he ran really well in the Summer Plate in March but I think he'll improve for this run. The track shouldn't be a problem; he did really well in the spring off lower marks.

Unexpected Party is our fifth in the Handicap Chase and, again, I just don't think he's all that well handicapped. He's getting to be an older horse now, and we need to get him started. He has won at this meeting before in the past, but his handicap mark could be the problem on Sunday.

We finish the day off with Cooltobecareless in the bumper - he's a nice horse who won his point-to-point earlier this year. They're saying they're watering the hurdles track every night, so hopefully it's on the easy side of good. Given he has experience in point-to-points that'll stand him in good stead, he's got a fair chance here. Obviously we'll see how we get on and we'll know how good a horse we've got after it. But, going into it, he's done enough work and shown us enough for us to think he should go pretty close.

View the latest horse racing odds and specials.

All odds and markets are correct as of the date of publication.