Challow Hurdle hero The New Lion has been bought to JP McManus, with earlier proprietor Darren Yates stating his intention to depart racing on the finish of the season.
The six-year-old has gained every of his 4 begins for Dan and Harry Skelton, with a debut victory in a Market Rasen bumper within the spring adopted by a hat-trick of wins over hurdles.
He was vastly spectacular when efficiently graduating to Grade One stage at Newbury over the festive interval, giving Yates and his spouse Annaley their first style of top-level success.
Yates has invested big sums in shopping for racehorses, most notably spending £620,000 on Interconnected, who did not win a race afterwards.
Nonetheless, in a deal that seems to have been brokered by fellow proprietor Paul Byrne – who has beforehand bought a number of of his personal horses to McManus – Yates has determined to let go of his prized asset.
Detailing the reasoning behind the choice on Nick Luck’s Day by day Podcast, he stated: “At the beginning of the season, Annaley and I decided actually that we had been pondering of getting out of racing altogether.
“Various things in our lives, grandkids – instances change. However once I spoke to Dan (Skelton) about it, he stated ‘look, for the primary time ever, you have acquired an outstanding workforce. You’ve got acquired the likes of The New Lion and Cherie d’Am. You may promote all of them now in a dispersal, however you are not going to get the worth’.
“I said ‘OK, I’m prepared to crack on’, and obviously that was a risk as well, as a horse is only a day away from getting injured. I said to Dan ‘Let’s try to make a target of trying to win a Grade One’ and he said he thought it was definitely achievable with the ammunition we’ve got.”
Yates revealed the choice to promote The New Lion to McManus has been within the works for a while and that he gambled on him successful a Grade One to maximise his worth.
“I’ve been very loyal to Dan and he’s been amazing – him, Harry (Skelton) and the whole team. And if any of my horses went to the sales, you don’t really know where they end up,” Yates continued.
“This developed because Paul Byrne, who is a very good friend of mine from Ireland, he was really badgering me after The New Lion won at Chepstow. He loved the horse and asked if I would like to sell him, I said I’d like to continue and see if we can win a Grade One. He said that was a big risk and I said it was my risk.
“What I do know from being in racing myself is you’ll be able to’t purchase an excellent horse like this – they simply do not exist. Or in the event that they do exist, they by no means come up on the market.
“Paul came to me again, as he really believed in the horse, as I did, and I think from what I see, he has an amazing relationship with JP. I think JP is a very private man, there’s a lot of trust there with Paul and I said this would be private between us if we do a deal.
“One of many issues I requested Paul to talk to JP about was that Dan would stick with it coaching and that Harry would stick with it driving. JP, as a gentleman, stated that would not be an issue transferring ahead.
“Without Paul Byrne, the deal wouldn’t have happened. I wasn’t really interested in going to the sales and I like the way it’s happened.”
Whereas The New Lion shall be carrying the inexperienced and gold silks of McManus going ahead, Yates revealed he retains a ‘bonus curiosity’ within the son of Kayf Tara, who is anticipated to go straight to the Cheltenham Competition in March.
He added: “The deal massively suits JP and massively suits me. I’m not going to go into it obviously, because JP wanted to keep it private, which is great with me, but it does give me an interest in the horse moving forward as well. Let’s call it a bonus interest, depending on what he does in the future.
“I believe JP was pleased to do this and I used to be pleased to do this. Even when I did not have a kicker, I am not the kind of one that’d promote a horse and wish it to do badly – I am determined for him to win at Cheltenham.”
Yates still owns several other horses with Skelton, including the high-class mare Cherie d’Am, who is bound for the Grade Two Trustatrader Hampton Novices’ Chase at Warwick on Saturday.
However, she too looks set to go on the market at some stage, with Yates citing the treatment of owners as one of the major factors in his decision to leave the sport.
“As a result of I’ve bought The New Lion, by the tip of the season I will be out completely,” he said.
“The expertise of the day is superb and successful a Grade One was superb, however they’re very short-lived if you take a look at all the opposite issues it’s a must to put up with in racing.
“I think the owners are never looked after properly. I would think once I’m out, I’m out.
“You spend a lifetime on the lookout for a horse like The New Lion, however I simply do not see the worth in it – I am unsure the place the game will find yourself.”
