Dan Skelton savoured life in the slow lane as he raided Ayr to rattle-off a hat-trick.
The Warwickshire trainer and jockey brother Harry made their 600-mile round trip count with three winners from five runners on the opening day of the track’s jumping season. Odds-on trio County Mile, Home Free and Dalston Lad all scored for Team Skelton to secure a chirpy trip back down the M74 for the siblings and their staff.
The handler revealed conditions were key to the visit when asked if this could be a sign of more contenders at Ayr in the months ahead. He said: “Look, you get into the later season, we’ll see. I have to say the ground up here is fantastic and we’ve had to come up because we’ve had a few that we need to run on some slower ground.
“Down south, we’ve just not had any rain and you have obviously had a good quantity up here. The ground is in great condition and we are taking advantage of that. I wish this place was closer because if, it was, I would come a lot more regularly.
“The owners get looked after really well, we have been treated great today, the track is in great condition and the racing is fair. There is a nice, long straight, we like that. It is the 300 miles!”
The Skeltons are bidding for UK trainer and jockey titles, but, at this stage, that’s not the reasoning for Scottish trips as Dan explained: “At the moment, it’s the ground. When you get into March and April, you probably do start looking at venues for championships. But, to be honest with you, we’ll let that mature into what that is going to mature into before we worry.”
Lucinda Russell maintained her hot form to kick-off the meeting with a winner in the shape of course-specialist Destiny is All before James Ewart saddled Hapy La Vie to success.
Northern Irish handler Ian Duncan also slammed home 231/1 mid-card double with Adveram and Celestial Fashion.