Dan Skelton has ruled Protektorat out of the Ladbrokes King George VI Chase a Kempton on Boxing Day.
The high-class nine-year-old ran in the Peterborough Chase at Huntingdon on Sunday, finishing a laboured second behind Djelo, a performance that convinced connections he can’t operate effectively racing right-handed.
Speaking on Monday’s Nick Luck Daily Podcast, the trainer said: “I didn’t think going right-handed on Sunday would be the difference between winning and losing but I feel it actually was.
“That’s not taking anything away from the winner who was very, very good and had a great day. He’d have been very hard to beat whatever way round we went.
“But we gave ourselves no chance. We rode him the way we rode him because we felt it might protect him against jumping out to the left, but it didn’t make any difference.
"Harry was in a row with him the whole way round and the only time he ran straight was after the last when there are no jumps to jump and he put a few lengths on Ginny’s Destiny from the back of the last which was good to see.
“It proved his well-being, but it’s too much of a fight with him to go right-handed.”
Stablemate L’Eeau Du Sud won Saturday’s Betfair Henry VIII Novices’ Chase at Sandown, a performance that pleased his trainer given he had to show grit and tenacity in attritional conditions.
“I thought it was very good, it’s the first time I’ve seen him come under real pressure and win. In the two races he got beat in last year, the Betfair and the County Hurdle, the winner got past him so quick he didn’t really have time to respond,” Skelton added.
“Whereas on Saturday, he turned in with one with him there and the ground was bad, he was scrappy at the second last and scrappy at the last but found a way to get it done which is what I feel good horses do.
“He’s very versatile in terms of the ground but to see him at his absolute best that’s going to be on better ground but having said that he still wins when it’s like Saturday.
“It’s a really nice position to be in as a trainer, knowing you don’t have too many excuses. If he gets beat by a better horse, it’s because he got beat by a better horse and I’m sure better horses will turn up, but we’ve put a pretty strong mark down.”
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