HARRY HURRIES TO TREBLE
HARRY Skelton served notice that he could be a dark horse in the race for the jump jockeys’ title with another treble yesterday.
The in-form rider moved to within one winner of reigning champion Richard Johnson after victories on Wnyford, Daulys Anthem and Mister Universum, all trained by his brother Dan.
Daulys Anthem won for the second day in succession and looks another well-handicapped horse to have benefited from moving to the Skeltons.
Mister Universum looks destined for much better things after showing a smart turn of foot to see off market rival Shamash, who was ridden by Johnson.
Johnson, who also rode a Bangor winner on Pat’s Pearl, has dominated the jockeys’ championship since the retirement of AP McCoy. He finished runnerup 16 times to McCoy before finally claiming the title for the past two seasons.
Sam Twiston-Davies and Aidan Coleman are still regarded as Johnson’s main rivals by the bookies but Skelton’s odds have been slashed in recent weeks.
Betfair spokesman Barry Orr said: “The fact his main stable will have significant ammunition over the winter months he is now a well supported 14-1 shot.”
Ladbrokes have Skelton at 12-1 with Johnson at 1-3.
Skelton also has the best strike rate of any of the top 20 jockeys with 32% of his 142 rides winning.
His trainer brother is also one of the sport’s most upwardly mobile operators and has already broken the 50-winner barrier this season.
The former assistant to Paul Nicholls has increased his tally of winners each season since he set up in 2013-14 and looks a dead cert to improve the total again.