'It's very important' - Skelton hoping for Grade 1 breakthrough with Nube Negra

Saturday: 3.00 Sandown
bet365 Celebration Chase (Grade 1) | 1m7½f | 5yo+ | ITV/RTV

There are only three realistic winners of the five-runner bet365 Celebration Chase and many will consider Nube Negra as the likeliest to oblige as he is officially the best horse in the field by 2lb.

In contrast to chief market rivals Greaneteen and Sceau Royal, Nube Negra missed the Celebration last year in preference of running in a Grade 1 at the Punchestown festival three days later.

Nube Negra was brushed aside by Chacun Pour Soi and Allaho on away territory there and ran below-par after just shy of a six-week turnaround from going close in the Queen Mother Champion Chase.

Essentially, this flashy type needs to be fresh to exhibit his abundant talent. We last saw him in December and you can be certain Dan Skelton immediately targeted this race after the ground went against him before his next intended outing at this season’s Cheltenham Festival in March.

Nube Negra has form figures of 12121 in chases after breaks of 63 days or longer, compared to 1234 after shorter intervals. The gut feeling is freshness is more advantageous to Nube Negra than it is to Greaneteen, whose record after breaks of 69 days or longer reads a less convincing 601134.

That Greaneteen last ran 76 days ago in the Dublin Chase therefore raises a question mark about his ability to perform to his best here, and he was miles below form at Leopardstown.

3.00 Sandown: bet365 Celebration Chase card and betting

Admittedly the run came amidst a well-publicised Paul Nicholls quiet spell and his absence since is of little surprise after a busy first half of the season. However, nothing compares to hardened race fitness and Greaneteen was bouncing ahead of last year’s dismissal of Altior hot on the heels of a career-best effort in the Champion Chase.

The eight-year-old held Sceau Royal by 16 lengths in the 2021 running and although form figures of 211 in Grade 1 chases at Sandown makes for impressive reading, the lack of a recent outing could prove his undoing.

It would be negligent to ignore Sceau Royal, for all he is ten now and Grade 1 strikes from veterans do not grow on trees. Alan King’s stable star recorded a Racing Post Rating of 168 for the fourth time in his outstanding career in the Game Spirit Chase at Newbury in February, a figure Nube Negra has registered only twice.

Nobody could begrudge Sceau Royal a first Grade 1 success since 2017 but younger legs might win the day at the end of a busy seven-race campaign.
Analysis by Robbie Wilders

'The ground will be really good for Nube Negra'

Dan Skelton is relishing the opportunity to pick up a crucial first top-level success with Nube Negra with conditions finally set to be ideal for his stable star.

Last year's Queen Mother Champion Chase runner-up has only been seen twice since November, winning the Shloer Chase impressively on his reappearance at Cheltenham before disappointing when fourth in the Tingle Creek behind Greaneteen in December.

Nube Negra: impressive winner of the Shloer in NovemberCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

The eight-year-old has not been seen since then, having missed another intended crack at the Champion Chase due to rain-softened conditions, but Skelton is excited to get his star back on the track once more this campaign.

"I'm really happy and this ground will be really good for him, the track is no issue when we're going to race on good ground. He's got to take on Greaneteen again and Sceau Royal too, so it's not going to be easy at all, but we're really looking forward to it," he said.

"It was frustrating missing Cheltenham, but we knew what the result would be before the race had we raced on that terrible ground, we did the right thing pulling him out. It's very important to get that Grade 1 for him. We always want to do it with our top horses, but it'd be especially great to do it with him."

What they say

Paul Nicholls, trainer of Greaneteen and Rouge Vif
Greaneteen loves to be fresh and the good ground is in his favour. There’s form there with Nube Negra, the two of them have taken each other on a few times now but hopefully he’s got a nice chance to win again. Rouge Vif has struggled with his breathing but he’s had a wind operation since his last run. The ground will suit him well but he has to improve on all known form. If he can breathe now, he could be dangerous.

Alan King, trainer of Sceau Royal
We haven't done a huge amount with him since Aintree, but he looks in good order so we thought we'd roll the dice. Although he's won here he's a better horse left-handed. He's as good as he's ever been and still has great enthusiasm for the game.

Jonjo O'Neill, trainer of Sky Pirate
He's been a superstar. He probably isn't good enough but he's entitled to run in the race and we hope he'll pick up a bit of place money.
Reporting by Matt Rennie

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