Dornan Engineering Relkeel Hurdle
Grade 2, Cheltenham 14:35
£70,000 guaranteed,
4yo plus,
2m 5f, Class 1  
Thursday 1st January 2026

BetPlay

1 Kabral Du Mathan 8/15F
2 Jingko Blue 5/1
3 Lucky Place 11/2
6 ran Distances: 5½l, 2l, 1l
Time: 4m 52.82s (slow by 2.82s)

Kabral Du Mathan confirmed his growing reputation with a decisive display, quickening clear to score with authority.

Strongly supported into 8-15 favouritism for Dan and Harry Skelton following his emphatic stable debut success, the gelding was never far from the bridle in the extended two-and-a-half-mile contest. Gowel Road set the tempo from the front, with Jingko Blue tracking him closely, while Kabral Du Mathan travelled ominously well just in behind.

Jingko Blue held a narrow advantage approaching the final flight, but once Harry Skelton asked his partner to stretch, the response was immediate. Kabral Du Mathan picked up smartly, asserted in a matter of strides and powered clear up the hill to win by five and a half lengths, the outcome decided in a matter of seconds.

The performance saw his odds for the Stayers’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival cut to 5-1 from 8s with Coral, and Dan Skelton indicated that a direct path to March is very much the preferred route.

He said: “It was exactly what I wanted to see and fair play to the horse.

“I know the others are in a bunch behind him, but they’ve not gone that quick and it’s turned into a sprint and he’s got a good turn of foot.

“He’s a younger horse than the others and had no penalty to carry and that is why he was prohibitive odds, but we couldn’t be happier with that and that is just what we wanted to see. He’s a beauty to train, a very simple and straightforward horse and I’m delighted with him.

“I didn’t want to go all the way to three miles at once. There was a heap of expectation after Haydock and he needed to win today to go to the next level and he has.

“I would say it is straight to the Stayers’ Hurdle now and you might say straight to Aintree and wait a year to go three miles, but I’m greedy and we’ll go three at the Festival.”

The victory carried added poignancy for owners Neil and Alfie Smith, who suffered the loss of father and grandfather Ken over the Christmas period.

Skelton added: “Neil Smith lost his father in the week and this is a big boost for him. The Smiths are big supporters of the sport and we have to look after owners like this.

“Regardless of horses moving, I’m just the benefactor of that and I just want to point out it’s been a hard time for Neil and a nice winner like this will not go amiss.

“They are sports people and you have to get on and run. The horses don’t know what we’re putting up with as people and, to be honest, we don’t know what horses are putting up with most of the time, so you can only take your hat off to them.”

Dornan Engineering Relkeel Hurdle (Grade 2)
£70,000 guaranteed, 4yo plus, 2m 5f, Class 1
6 ran
Going: Good

POS. DIST HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY SP
1    Kabral Du Mathan 6 11-0 Dan Skelton Harry Skelton 8/15F
2 5½ Jingko Blue 7 11-0 Nicky Henderson James Bowen 5/1
3 2 Lucky Place 7 11-6 Nicky Henderson Nico de Boinville 11/2
4 1 Gowel Road 10 11-6 Nigel & Willy Twiston-Davies Sam Twiston-Davies 28/1
5 1 Kamsinas 9 11-0 Fergal O'Brien Jonathan Burke 33/1
6 30 The Real Whacker 10 11-0 Patrick Neville Sean Bowen 12/1