Dan Skelton hits out at 'offensive' Grand National comments by BHA handicapper

Dan Skelton has criticised the senior BHA jumps handicapper for what he described as "offensive" comments made in the wake of the small British entry for the Randox Grand National.

After only 31 British-trained horses were put in the Aintree showpiece when it closed last week, Martin Greenwood, who frames the weights for the race, said: "I could only suggest it's a continuation of the demise of the British National Hunt scene and it's part of a general picture."

Those words angered Skelton, who provided two of the 31 and pointed to the cost of the initial entry, the skillset a horse needs to run in the National and a fall in the number of eligible runners as likely reasons for the smaller home challenge. He said on Tuesday: "I find the handicapper's comments offensive. He's an official of British racing and he shouldn't be making comments like that.

"We don't ask the referee as he comes off the pitch what he thinks. The official's job is to officiate. I thought it was a rather unhelpful comment."

Skelton said he was not surprised by the small British entry against 54 horses trained in Ireland, which has had a clean sweep of the first three places in each of the last four Nationals.

"It was probably to be expected," he said. "It costs £950 first entry, so you should only really be entering if you're going to get in the race and it's appropriate for your horse.

"Then you have to take into consideration the amount of horses who are actually eligible for it in Britain and that has diminished. I wouldn't use the word 'demise' but numbers are down. So you're only going to get those horses who are eligible entered. We definitely have a few less in Britain than perhaps we did.

"The Irish have got a massive back catalogue of strong stamina in National Hunt breeding, and the majority start in three-mile point-to-points as four- and five-year-olds. You're going to develop more of that type of horse in that system. It's not surprising they have more."

Skelton, who worked for Paul Nicholls when Neptune Collonges claimed the National for the yard in 2012, would dearly love to train the winner of the race himself, but believes he needs to be selective over who he deems a suitable contender for the "tough" challenge.

"I love the race," he said. "It's a fabulous public spectacle. I'd love to win it. When I won it when I worked with Paul Nicholls I was staggered by the public adoration of the winner. We thought we were fairly used to public interest in the horses but it blows your mind. That's great for the sport and we should be concentrating on the positives of the sport rather than using the word 'demise'.

"What you've got to remember about races like the National is that they're particularly tough. A horse who has a bad experience might never get over it. Putting a horse in that arena if it's not ready or suitable for it is sometimes not the right thing to do.

"So when you see entry numbers are down, there's a plethora of reasons and in a way I feel it's a responsible reaction. The more people that consider exactly what goes on, the better for us all. There's nothing very comfortable about seeing horses not complete."

Le Milos (right): set to have his National warm-up in next month's Premier Chase at KelsoCredit: Mark Cranham

Coral Gold Cup winner Le Milos is set to have his National warm-up in next month's Premier Chase at Kelso, but Skelton admitted "there's a massive question over the trip" for his other entry, Becher Chase scorer Ashtown Lad.

In response to Skelton's criticism, a BHA spokesperson said it was "regrettable" if Greenwood's comments caused any concern. The spokesperson said: "Any fan of British jump racing wants to see as many entries as possible in our greatest race taking on the best that Ireland and the rest of the world has to offer.

"It's what makes the Grand National such an exciting event that is watched internationally by millions of people. And while the number of entries is down on previous years, there is a huge amount of good work going on within the sport – including by BHA officials – to ensure that British jump racing is in the best position to flourish.

"Martin was simply trying to reflect the disappointment of many British racing fans and it is regrettable if his comments caused any concern."

Skelton was much happier with the BHA handicapper who put up Calico just 1lb for giving 1-16 favourite Jonbon a scare in a match for the Grade 2 novice chase at Warwick on Saturday.

The trainer is convinced his chaser was flattered by his proximity to the winner. He said: "We all recognise that it wasn't an improved performance. It was an advantageous set of circumstances where we got closer to a horse than we ever really should.

"If you put up a horse like that in a match race, you're going to get walkovers. So it's good for the system that he's gone up 1lb. To me, it's professionals within the industry working together."

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