Brighton owner adds to Skelton roster following Cheltenham Festival sale recruitment
Tony Bloom, best known as chairman of Brighton & Hove Albion, is the latest notable owner to place horses with Dan Skelton after acquiring the point-to-point recruit Different Story at the Tattersalls Cheltenham Festival Sale in March.
Different Story, a mare successful in the point-to-point sphere, was purchased following Skelton and his agent Ryan Mahon’s interest, with Bloom and his partner Ian McAleavy joining the ownership group. The mare will be trained at Skelton’s Lodge Hill base, with connections indicating a patient approach to her introduction to rules racing as they await more suitable ground.
Festival sale connections and a measured plan
The transaction underlines the continuing importance of the Tattersalls Cheltenham Festival Sale as a source of new talent for leading National Hunt yards. Different Story left a strong enough impression in her point-to-point to prompt Skelton’s team to secure her at the sale earlier this year.
Skelton’s record of bringing point-to-point performers forward in to the racing ranks has been one factor behind the stable’s recent rise, and connections have emphasised an incremental campaign for the mare rather than immediate exposure at the highest level.
Growing owner roster for a rising stable
- Bloom joins a growing list of prominent owners who have trusted Skelton with high-profile purchases and established performers.
- Longstanding supporters from the world of sport have been involved with Skelton; Sir Alex Ferguson has been a notable patron, and former football manager Harry Redknapp is part-owner of the expensive purchase Kaiser Ball.
- Non-sporting names have also linked up with the stable: bet365 executive Denise Coates acquired Push The Limit for 580,000 guineas and plans a hurdling campaign for the horse this winter.
- Johnny de la Hey has moved a number of his horses to Skelton after parting company with Paul Nicholls, including multiple Grade One winner Pic d’Orhy.
The accumulation of such owners reflects the confidence clients have in the yard’s recent progression. Results and season-on-season improvement have raised Skelton’s profile among buyers and investors at sales, particularly those held around the Cheltenham Festival.
Implications for Cheltenham and the national hunt calendar
While Different Story’s immediate targets are yet to be defined, the involvement of prominent owners and the movement of established performers into the Skelton yard are likely to have ramifications across the National Hunt programme. Horses sourced at the Cheltenham Festival Sale and point-to-point arenas can be targeted at a variety of festival-grade opportunities in the coming seasons, and Skelton’s operation has shown an appetite for bringing such recruits forward carefully.
The developing owner-trainer relationships also highlight the centrality of Cheltenham-related sales and the festival itself in shaping the ownership landscape. As buyers and owners continue to seek out prospects at the spring sales, trainers with strong records of conversion from purchase to performance at major meetings will remain in demand.
Stable trajectory
Those close to the operation point to hard work behind the scenes as the reason for Skelton’s upward trajectory. The stable’s increasing appeal to both sporting and commercial owners follows consistent improvement in results, with owners citing that steady progression as a key reason to place horses with the yard.
For followers of the Cheltenham scene, the arrivals at Lodge Hill this summer serve as another reminder that activity around the Festival does not end with the racing: sales, ownership moves and trainer recruitment continue to shape each new campaign, and horses bought or rehomed during the spring often re-emerge as contenders at the next round of major meetings.
