bet365 Oaksey Chase |
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| Grade 2, Sandown 14:25 £80,000 guaranteed, 5yo plus, 2m 6f 164y, Class 1  |
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1 Doyen Quest 11/4
2
Blow Your Wad 11/10F
3
Teddy Blue 12/1
5 ran NR: Etalon, Ventura Highway
Distances: 6l, 3½l, 2¼l Time: 5m 46.00s (fast by 2.00s)
A 5MILLION DOLLAR CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON FOR DAN SKELTON! 💰
— ITV Racing (@itvracing) April 25, 2026
DOYEN QUEST wins the Bet365 Oaksey Chase @sandownpark under @harryskelton89@DSkeltonRacing | @GBRacing pic.twitter.com/xzUj0CWc7t
Dan Skelton’s coronation as champion trainer was confirmed before racing began at Sandown on Saturday, yet the celebrations found a further crescendo when Doyen Quest powered to victory here, sealing a landmark moment in a season already rich with achievement.
That success carried Skelton beyond the £5million prize-money barrier, a first in the history of the sport, and another notable milestone in a campaign defined by relentless progress.
Earlier in the week, he had already etched his name into the record books when a winner at Perth ensured he had struck at every jumps track in a single season. Having long since surpassed previous prize-money benchmarks in pursuit of a maiden title, he continued to push the boundaries.
The day had begun in profitable fashion, with nearly £40,000 secured in the bet365 Novices’ Championship Final Handicap Hurdle as Queen Maeve led home a stable one-two, but it was the first piece of graded action that elevated the occasion further still.
Skelton said: “It’s amazing and to do this… day’s like this might never happen again, we have to enjoy it.
“We work hard and I’m not saying everyone else doesn’t, but we’ve learned to really appreciate the ups and we’re all in it together.
“My owners have been awesome and how can you not enjoy this. We love trying to dream and always have grand ambitions and I’m never afraid to say them because I really feel we have the team to achieve.”
Reflecting on the ride that helped deliver another highlight, he added: “Harry (Skelton, brother) got off this lad at Aintree and said we need to be more aggressive on him and what a ride. I was pretty relaxed watching him up the run-in. I don’t get too worked up during the races, it’s afterwards I let it all go a bit.
“He was in the colours of Norman Lake who was one of my first owners. There’s some other of my first owners here today, people who were there right at the start with us.
“This family’s colours got us the remaining track at Perth earlier this week and again to break the record – there’s something not quite normal about that. I’m a very proud man right now.”
Having twice been denied by the formidable presence of Willie Mullins in recent seasons, Skelton now reflects on those setbacks as formative rather than defining.
“This is sport and sometimes you get beat and you have to learn how to deal with it,” continued Skelton.
“It doesn’t mean you like getting beat, but getting beat by Willie on those two occasions, what can you do other than up your game.
“I’ve learned that getting beat isn’t the end of the world as long as you take out something out of that defeat and grow and get bigger. It doesn’t need to be a bad experience and yes you’re entitled to be disappointed, but I think we’ve encapsulated that in what we do.”
Among those in attendance was a sizeable contingent of Skelton’s staff, family and supporters, whose vocal backing lent the afternoon a celebratory air throughout.
The trainer added: “I’m just so thankful and when I first started I felt a lot of pressure, but when the team grows it encapsulates everything and you gain a community you never knew existed and they’ve all come down today as they want to celebrate this as much as I do.
“We got beat at the eleventh hour and now we’ve won together and we’re a team. It’s my name on the door, but we’re a team and one big club.
“I love doing it with the people I do it with. Harry is right beside me every day and our families, Grace and Flo, Bridget and Harry’s kids – they are only little and don’t know what’s going on but they will be the next generation and I love that, it’s something very special.
“We have people in the yard who since they have started with us have had their own kids and now got mortgages and it’s a community we have. We all need each other and this year has really pressed that upon me.”v
Even with the summit reached, Skelton’s focus has already shifted to the next challenge, with a historic benchmark firmly in his sights.
“Next year I’ve set myself and our team that target to go and get 244 winners to try to beat Martin Pipe’s all-time British jumps record,” said Skelton.
“It’s probably the hardest target we’ve ever set. There’s a reason it hasn’t been beaten for as long as it has. Arguably, it’s one that we could, not even arguably, it is one that we could easily fall short of. But I’m not afraid.
“With the team we’ve got, the personnel we’ve got, the owners we’ve got, I’m not afraid to say that this team can do it. I think we can.
“I think we’re at the point now where we can go above the parapet and say we can achieve, we can possibly achieve these things. And if we don’t, we’ll give it a go. I was really buoyed by the fact that last year when we got beat, the wave of support that people wanted us to win.”
bet365 Oaksey Chase
(For The Menorah Challenge Trophy)
£80,000 guaranteed, 5yo plus, 2m 6f 164y, Class 1
5 ran
Going: Good, Good to Firm in places
