'He's as fast a juvenile as I've had since Allmankind' - Dan Skelton eyes Adonis and Aintree for exciting hurdler Precious Man

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Dan Skelton believes he has never had a quicker juvenile than Precious Man and the four-year-old will now be pitched into Graded company after a stylish success in the 2m juvenile hurdle.

The odds-on shot became Skelton's first winner for owner Johnny de la Hey when sweeping clear readily under Harry Skelton to win by four and a quarter lengths from King Al. The Harry Derham-trained Wertpol, the 7-2 second favourite, suffered a fatal injury after falling at the final hurdle when trying to press the leader.

The winning trainer said of Precious Man: "His jumping is very fast. Harry holds him into the bottom of the jumps to try to teach him to hurdle as best he can, so I think his hurdling will become better and better.

"He's as fast a juvenile as I've had since Allmankind. This one is naturally very pacey. He'll come back here for the Adonis Hurdle [February 21], then I'd imagine he’d go to Aintree, because that's more his cup of tea than Cheltenham."

Supreme hope

The Noel Fehily Racing Syndicate started the season with just three novice hurdlers and they look to have struck gold for the second time after Baron Noir landed the 2m novice hurdle.

Baron Noir (right) wins the juvenile hurdleCredit: Alan Crowhurst (Getty Images)

The syndicate already had a live hope Cheltenham Festival hope with Listed winner Hurricane Pat, who competes in next week's Grade 2 Rossington Main Novice Hurdle, and Baron Noir earned similar quotes of 25-1 for the Supreme after his two-and-a-half-length win over Kocktail Bleu.

"We've always thought the world of him," Fehily said. "I never wanted to talk him up too much, but I think he's a hell of a good horse and there's only more to come.

"Hurricane Pat will be out next week and if we have two darts to fire at Cheltenham, that's even better. Baron Noir will be in both the Supreme and the Turners and we'll see what the ground and weather is doing up to then, but I thought he looked like a Supreme horse today."

Winning trainer Alan King went on to seal a treble when The Doyen Chief won the 3m handicap chase and Edwardstone landed the Silviniaco Conti Chase.

Lookaway: lands a second chase success for Neil KingCredit: Alan Crowhurst (Getty Images)

Lookaway strikes

Lookaway's novice-chase season may have been ruined by breathing issues but he bounced back to his best with victory in the 2m4½f handicap chase. The Grade 2 winner notched his first win in more than a year when pulling 24 lengths clear under Jack Quinlan from favourite Leader In The Park.

"It's wonderful for him," Neil King said. "As tough and as hard as he is, he deserves it as he's the most genuine horse. We had to write the season off and fortunately we've got him back where he should be this year. He's probably been crying out for this trip."

Track fatalities

On a day that saw Kalif Du Berlais, Wertpol and Peso suffer fatal injuries, the BHA expressed condolences to all connections and added: "Each of the horses was attended immediately by the veterinary team on the racecourse, who quickly assessed the extent of the injuries and the most appropriate course of action.

"The BHA will now analyse each of the incidents in detail through our fatality review process. This involves an in-depth review into every fatality that occurs on a raceday, with input from experts including veterinarians, racecourse teams and participants.

"At this stage there does not appear to be any common factor that can be attributed to these incidents, with each of the injuries different in nature and sustained in unique circumstances.

"But as is the case where there is more than one fatality at a single meeting, the BHA will also initiate its additional review process to assess all relevant factors in conjunction with the racecourse and determine whether there may be any causal links.

"These processes are part of wider and ongoing efforts across British racing to continually improve safety and reduce avoidable risk of injuries and fatalities."

Read more:

Kalif Du Berlais fatally injured in Silviniaco Conti Chase won by veteran Edwardstone 

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