Nube Negra put down a marker in the two-mile chase division as he registered an impressive victory in the Shloer Chase at Cheltenham.
Dan Skelton’s charge shot to prominence in beating Altior at Kempton over Christmas, but was half a length short in the Queen Mother Champion Chase in March — delivering a power-packed finish, but just failing to catch Put The Kettle On.
That rival was in the field once again, but she was the first of the four runners to crack this time, as Politologue — himself a former two-mile champion - set out to make every yard of the running in the Grade Two feature.
Simply The Betts had attracted plenty of support before the race but he was the next to fold, leaving Harry Skelton firmly in charge as Nube Negra tanked down to the final two fences.
Having suffered a headline-grabbing exit from My Drogo in a two-runner novice chase on Friday, Skelton was in no mood for a repeat and once Nube Negra grabbed the lead, he fairly shot clear.
Politologue kept on for second with Put The Kettle On rallying up the hill to take third place.
Betfair make Nube Negra a 4-1 chance for next month’s Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown, while the same firm cut him from 20-1 to 10s for the Champion Chase, a race for which Coral go 12-1.
His trainer said: “I’m chuffed to bits for the horse. Some said he might have been lucky to be second in the Champion Chase, but I thought that was a strong race today.
“I know Put The Kettle On hasn’t turned up, but Politologue looked very fit and is a former champion. He went a hard gallop and kept going.
“I’m so proud of the horse. His owner Terry (Spraggett) has always wanted a good horse and now he’s got one.
“In novices you are always thinking ‘we’ll do this or that’ but this is the big league and I’m delighted.
“I’m sorry to beat John (Hales) and Paul (Nicholls) because Politologue has run his heart out and didn’t deserve to get beat, but it was a fair run from him and I’m chuffed to bits with Nube.
“It’s been an up and down few days, but whatever sport you are in it is about being professional, sometimes it rolls for you and sometimes it rolls against you. You have to learn from those situations and come out stronger. I’ve learned more this week than I ever have.
“I had a tingle in my hands when he jumped the last and I don’t think I’ve ever had that before.”
He went on: “He’s very good fresh and we picked this race two or three weeks ago when it looked like the ground would be decent.
“He’s seven, he’s still improving and while I know it’s a strong division, I’m just delighted. I think he can go on to even more.
“Politologue has run his heart out, but sometimes you have to give way to younger legs and that is ultimately what has happened.
“It’s not about beating Paul, it’s about having those good horses on the good days and making it stick. Some haven’t recently, like Shan Blue and My Drogo, but you’ve got to land the odd big fish.
“I don’t know about the Tingle Creek. There’s an obvious route, but at the end of the day this is a big race so we’ll stay in the present.
“We’ll consider Sandown and obviously Kempton, because he’s so good there, but he’s going to come back here, isn’t he (in March).
“Some said last year because it was a slow-run race and he’s a fast horse he got lucky. I don’t think he did.
“He’s entitled to get stronger and stayed on well today. Shishkin is the same age. I also think ours handled the ground a bit better today. We won’t be shy of taking them all on anyway.”
His rider said: “That was absolutely brilliant. The horse deserves that, he knocked on the door in the Queen Mother and then was back here today.
“The ground was a bit dead for him I thought. Now that he’s getting a bit older, he’s staying a bit better and getting a bit stronger.
“It was a brilliant performance. He’s hitting the line hard now as a two-miler.
“Fair play to Dan, he’s looked after him. Terry has been a loyal supporter of the family for a long time, they deserve a good horse and they’ve got one.”
