Dan Skelton Saturday runners blog: 'He has been trained for it, he looks great, and he doesn’t have a penalty'

Leading trainer Dan Skelton has thirteen runners on Saturday, March 21, 2026 across meetings at Newbury, Bangor and Kelso. The Ladbrokes ambassador previews them all in his latest blog, as well as reflecting on his successful Cheltenham Festival and looking forward to Aintree.

Newbury

• Gambino - Newbury - 1.15 race odds

• Heltenham - Newbury - 2.25 race odds

• Getawhisky - Newbury - 3.00 race odds

• Diamond Street & The Mad Poet - Newbury - 3.35 race odds

Bangor

• Drakaris - Bangor - 1.07 race odds

• Joyeux Machin - Bangor - 2.15 race odds

• Knickerbockerglory & In The Age - Bangor - 3.20 race odds

Kelso

• Listentoyourheart - Kelso - 1.00 race odds

• Brookside La - Kelso - 1.30 race odds

• Belle Le Grand & First Candidate - Kelso - 2.10 race odds

• Diamond Dealer - Kelso - 2.40 race odds

Newbury

Gambino – 1.15 Newbury

He’s a nice horse who finished third to Constitution Hill in a flat race at Southwell. We have done loads of jumping, but we will probably bring him back on the flat at some point. We bought him to be a jumper so we will get started here. He has no experience jumping but he does do everything nicely, so I would like to think he will run well.

Heltenham – 2.25 Newbury

We’ve got Heltenham in the handicap chase and we will just keep an eye on the ground. He runs well at the track and won a nice race there the last day and with a bit of luck he will go well again. Although the handicapper has bumped him up.

Getawhisky – 3pm Newbury

We have Getawhisky in the mares’ final. I think the step back up to two-and-half miles will be a positive. She ran nicely at Market Rasen over too short a trip, but I think this trip should be a step in the right direction. She doesn’t moan too much about the ground…any ground to some degree is fine for her.

Diamond Street & The Mad Poet – 3.35 Newbury

We run two in a very valuable bumper. Harry [Skelton] rides Diamond Street and we just want to keep an eye on the ground. He was very good at Doncaster, we liked everything we saw that day, and he won by staying. He looks a fine horse for the future. I think he will go very well.

We’ve had this race in mind for the The Mad Poet for a year now. He has been trained for it, he looks great, and he doesn’t have a penalty. I think he will go very well also. I have two fine horses going for this.

Bangor

Drakaris – 1.07 Bangor

Drakaris hasn’t looked good enough to win one of these types of races. Hopefully she can win a handicap down the road.

Joyeux Machin – 2.15 Bangor

Joyeux Machin is in calmer waters here and young Harry Atkins takes 7lbs off which should bring him into it really. He hasn’t won for a while and hopefully this type of race is a positive for him.

Knickerbockerglory & In The Age – 3.20 Bangor

We run two in a nice handicap hurdle. Obviously Knickerbockerglory carries top weight, and he knows how to do that. Young Harry takes 7lbs off here as well and he knows the horse well. The handicapper doesn’t hold much back though to be honest so it will be hard for him.

In The Age has had a consistent year and I think this is probably his trip. I look forward to going over fences with him next year, but this will be his last run over hurdles. It would be nice to do it with a small weight in quite a valuable race. His work has been good and looking forward to getting back out there.

Kelso

Listentoyourheart – 1pm Kelso

Listentoyourheart runs up at Kelso in a listed mares’  hurdle which is going to be competitive. The step up to three miles should be a positive as I think she is bred to stay. We will see her do something slightly different and this time of year isn’t a problem for her with the nice ground underfoot and the sun on her back.

Brookside La – 1.30 Kelso

I’ve had this race in mind for Brookside La since he qualified. I think the trip might be a fraction sharp but he’s in good form and I should hope he will go well.

Belle Le Grand & First Candidate – 2.10 Kelso

We run two in a valuable mares’ handicap hurdle. Belle Le Grand is going back left-handed. This trip on nice ground is all positive. She has a reasonable handicap mark, and I think she should run well.

First Candidate has just improved throughout the year. She maybe one that wants slower ground, but this is a valuable race and she’s qualified for it. We thought we would take it in. But like I said, she has done nothing but improve through the season.

Diamond Dealer – 2.40 Kelso

Diamond Dealer has won at the track before. He carries top weight, but that’s not a problem for him as he’s a big, strong horse. It’s another series final so you’ve had to qualify to get in. It looks a nice race for him and going left-handed is perfect. We will give it our best shot.

Cheltenham Review/Aintree Preview

We are very happy with what we saw at Cheltenham, and we don’t have any negatives to be honest with you. Overall, we came out with two winners. You go there hunting for one, but when you get one, you hunt for more. It was a great week, great racing, the horses ran brilliantly and I am very proud of the team.

The horses performed beautifully, and we haven’t come away with too many hard luck stories. We’ll take as many as we can to Aintree now. The New Lion will go to the Aintree Hurdle, Madara will run in the Topham, and we’ve got L’Eau Du Sud, Protektorat, and Grey Dawning for the Grade 1 chases, while Sinnatra will go for the Grade 1 Novice Hurdle. Maestro Conti can run in the juvenile, and Dalston Lad is fresh for the Grade 1 three-mile novice hurdle. Doyen Quest is fresh for the Grade 1 three-mile novice chase and we’ve a heap for the handicaps. Take No Chances and Supremely West run in the three-mile races on the Saturday, so we have a good team going there along with some nice bumper horses. Bossman Jack and Soldier Reevers run in the Grade 1 two-and-half-mile hurdle, and they ran brilliantly in the Ballymore. And of course, Panic Attack will be going for the Grand National…she needs a few to come out and it’s looking like that might happen so we would be very excited for that to happen. She did nothing wrong at Cheltenham and perhaps the ground was a little quick, but she ran fantastically well.

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