'What sets him apart is his mentality' - Dan Skelton brimming with confidence about 'very, very exciting' The New Lion

Dan Skelton says he would be relaxed if unbeaten novice hurdler The New Lion were to go straight to the Cheltenham Festival without another run, and says he will be guided at least in part by new owner JP McManus.

Few would argue that the easiest Graded winner in Britain over the festive period was The New Lion, who travelled all over his rivals in the Challow Hurdle before sauntering clear to cement his place at the head of the market for the Turners Novices' Hurdle, for which he is no bigger than 11-4.

The magnitude of that performance may have been slightly overshadowed by his subsequent sale to McManus but Skelton's enthusiasm for the five-year-old remains as fierce as it was the moment he crossed the line at Newbury on December 30.