The Protectorate soared over the Windsor fence to record a brilliant victory in the Fitzdares Fleur De Lys Chase.
Dan Skelton’s 10-year-old was second to L’Homme Presse in this race last year when it was held at Lingfield, after which he had a very successful spring when he won the Ryanair Chase at the Cheltenham Festival and finished third in the Melling Chase. at Aintree.
He was second in the Peterborough Chase on his last outing and was sent on the road at 100-30 this time, with his Huntingdon winner Djelo a well-backed 5-4 favourite.
Protectorate opened up the track through the two-mile, six-furlong race – worth over £85,000 to the winner – and put plenty of daylight between himself and his rivals.
In the business part, there was no chance to get him back and he strolled across the line 23 lengths ahead of his old enemy Djelo.
“I haven’t ridden much with his constitution and strength. He went a two-mile gallop, it’s incredible. He’s so tough and so brave, he’s the craziest horse I’ve ever ridden. He’s crazy, he’ll Go out tomorrow and you want to go around five times gallop,” said the winning rider.
“That’s what makes him so good, that will to keep up, he’s relentless and we’re very lucky to have a horse like him.
“He got beaten up and then he just came back, we had a few days with him.”
He added: “It’s a big day for the horse, he always puts his hat in the ring and he’s a heavyweight. We’ll go to Ryanair now but we’re not naive enough to think it hasn’t been a big day for him.
The coach added: “Today everything was perfect, we are delighted with him.
“This and Ryanair have been his two big targets for this year, it’s going to be tough to keep his title because the clock has ticked past 10 years. He’s not getting any younger but he’s going to make them run, he’s going to make them work for it.”
The Protectorate is co-owned by John Hales and his daughter Lisa, along with Sir Alex Ferguson and Ged Mason.
An emotional Hales said: “He’s a brilliant horse, it’s been a wonderful show.
“When they started I thought ‘what the hell is he doing going 20 lengths ahead at the start?’ but it was all well thought out.
“It was a brilliant performance. He’s right up there in the top three (horses he’s owned) – One Man, Neptune (Collonges) and then this one.
“When you get a horse like this that is so genuine, it was an amazing performance.”
Jubilee Alpha sets up bid for Cheltenham
Bigger things are in store for Jubilee Alpha after winning the Fitzdares Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle.
Paul Nicholls’ six-year-old went into the race with a penalty after winning the Listed last time out, ridden by Harry Cobden as the 8-13 favourite.
The soft ground may not have been to her liking, but she still managed to come to the fore, securing a length and a quarter victory over Emma Lavelle’s Bluey to bring the Ryanair Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival into the picture. .
“You wouldn’t fall in love with that surface, I thought it was a good performance in the end,” Cobden said.
“She had a big penalty to win that Listed race at Taunton, I liked the way she went through the race and Paul was confident she could have done a lot better as he only had three weeks to get to today.
“That Cheltenham race was probably made for her, wasn’t it?”
Nicholls told Sky Sports Racing: “She’s direct, jumps and travels and stays.
“There’s no reason to be negative when you ride her, if they go fast, the faster the better. She should stay very uphill (at Cheltenham) which will suit her well.
“I know I can prepare her better for Cheltenham than I did today because we only had three weeks until Taunton and we have plenty of time to get her ready for the big day.”
Matata made light work of the Fitzdares Great Park Handicap Chase under top weight 12th for Nigel Twiston-Davies in the ‘double green’ silk jerseys of Simon Munir and Isaac Souede.
The seven-year-old was ridden by JJ Slevin, whose owners did not keep him for long, and he started as a 2-1 favorite in a group of eight.
The duo took a prominent position fairly early on and found that no one was close enough to challenge as they strode to a 10-point success.
“He is very keen, but that was wonderful, he jumped well as always,” said the coach.
“They went very fast and that exhausted them a lot, I think there were excuses for many behind them and I’m not just saying that for the handicapped.
“I think the owners may have another horse for the Champion Chase (El Fabiolo) so the idea is we could go for a two-and-a-half mile race at Aintree.”
Jingko Blue wins Hampton honors in Windsor
Jingko Blue took the next step in his promising career with a clear victory in the Hampton Novices’ Chase.
Nicky Henderson’s six-year-old was a wide margin winner on his debut over fences at Uttoxeter in December and has faced just two level two rivals this time around.
He was the 4-9 favorite under Nico de Boinville, who rode him patiently as he stalked leader Lowry’s Bar for most of the three-mile trip.
Jingka Blue’s jumping was a bit of a mixed bag, but as he loomed alongside Lowry’s Bar in the closing stages, a nasty mistake by the latter left him clear.
He raced to victory by two and a quarter lengths and remained unbeaten over fences, with Lowry’s Bar holding on in a creditable second place, with Johnny a long way back in third.
Henderson told Sky Sports Racing: “That significant mistake (by Lowry’s Bar) changed the look of the race very quickly, but everything was going well.
“I thought he jumped well, it’s a tough pitch. They were really going into this pitch on Friday and I wouldn’t have thought it was the easiest to jump off of.
“It can be a bit more lavish than that, but at that gallop on this ground, that was probably the best way to go about it.
“They set a reasonable pace, but he (De Boinville) said that if he was faster on a better pitch, he would be a better jumper.
“I’m pretty sure three miles is his game.”
De Boinville added: “He’s a nice horse and he’s progressing in the right direction.
“It’s not easy to jump off that field, but he did it well at the end. The faster he went, the better he was, we were going pretty steady.
“It’s hard to jump here, those fences are traps and it’s hard to get into a rhythm. I’ve had a lot of horses.”
Guard Duty takes charge of Lavelle and Sheehan
Guard Duty fought his way from last to first to take the Winter Million Novices’ Handicap Hurdle at Windsor.
Emma Lavelle’s eight-year-old was an 11-2 chance in the hands of Gavin Sheehan, who was happy to bide his time during the two-and-a-half-mile event.
Bay gradually began to pick off rivals as the race progressed, and during the penultimate flight he broke through and took a prominent position. During the last he took the lead as the others faltered, then held on to prevail by four lengths.
“I thought it was a very good performance,” Lavelle said.
“He’s a horse that has always had a lot of ability, but he hasn’t been the easiest to train.
“He’s always been quite playful – so to speak – at home and his jumping wasn’t the sharpest because he’s just a bit headstrong.
“Gavin gave him a lovely ride today, an absolute peach, he jumped much better and it was nice to see him start to fulfill the potential we’ve always seen at home.”
