Why the Greatwood was the perfect trial for Champion Hurdle hope Adagio
With trainers getting it in the neck for not running horses – and it was seriously disappointing that £332,000 of prize-money was contested by just 45 horses at Cheltenham on Sunday – it is worth praising two trainers who bucked recent trends over the weekend by running theirs.
It has become more and more unconventional in the modern game to start potential Grade 1 hopes off top weight in handicaps, yet Dan Skelton and David Pipe weren't frightened and were very nearly rewarded for their boldness.
Skelton was thrilled, and rightly so, with the second-placed effort of the 154-rated Protektorat in the Paddy Power Gold Cup on Saturday, while Adagio ran a stormer for Pipe to chase home West Cork in the Greatwood Hurdle the following day.
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