Conditions key for Kabral Du Mathan’s Stayers’ Hurdle assignment

Dan Skelton has given Kabral Du Mathan the green light to contest the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle, provided conditions at the Cheltenham Festival are deemed suitable.

The six-year-old is two from two since leaving Skelton’s former boss Paul Nicholls, with a wide-margin handicap success at Haydock on his stable debut followed by an impressive victory in the Grade Two Relkeel Hurdle at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day.

Skelton was initially minded to stick to shorter trips with Kabral Du Mathan this season, with last weekend’s National Spirit Hurdle identified as a likely target, but testing conditions at Fontwell prompted a rethink and he is now prepared to step him up to three miles for the first time at the Festival.

“He is going to run in the Stayers’ Hurdle as long as the ground is not brutal, which looking at the long-range forecast I would hope that it’s not,” the trainer said at a press morning at his yard organised by The Jockey Club.

“We’ve been very cautious with our approach to the spring time with him. It was always our intention to go to Fontwell last week and then go on to Aintree, but when it became obvious Fontwell was going to become a swimming pool it was the wrong thing to do.

“I’m very happy to step him up to three miles because I’m a believer that it will suit him, but we don’t want to run there on bad ground and give him an unecessarily hard race.”

Kabral Du Mathan is a 5-1 shot with William Hill for the Stayers’ Hurdle and Skelton is confident he will be a major player if his stamina stands up to the test.

He added: “If he stays three miles, it’s going to be hard to resist him. I don’t want to over-excite or over-egg the pudding here, but if we stay three miles – and I think we will – we’ve got a serious player on our hands.

“Put it this way, the Relkeel was two-mile-five and if you moved that winning post three furlongs further towards Cheltenham town centre, would he have won? I have no doubt (he would).

“He has phenomenal class and I hope it’s enough – if he stays, look out.”