Doyen Quest

Doyen Quest kept on well to finish second behind Josh The Boss in the Silver Trophy at Chepstow on Saturday. Settled in rear early on by Harry Skelton, he made nice progress down the far side and he moved up threateningly behind the leaders early in the home straight. He moved into second place at the second last flight, and he looked a likely winner at that point, but he just couldn’t get past the leader, who had led from early and who kicked again from the front in a race that was steadily run. He went down by four lengths in the end, with less than two lengths back to his stable companion Take No Chances, and the three of them nicely clear of their rivals.

This was a nice run by Dan Skelton’s horse on his seasonal return. He finished off his season well last term, winning handicap hurdles at Newbury in March and at Cheltenham in April, seeing out the two-and-a-half-mile trip well in the latter, and he should be able to continue his progress this season. The handicapper raised him by 3lb to a mark of 125, but he is only six and he has raced just seven times over hurdles, so he still has the potential to go well beyond that mark. He goes well on goodish ground, and he obviously goes well at Cheltenham, so he will be of interest if and when he goes back there, especially given his trainer’s record in big handicap hurdles there.

Chepstow, 12^th October 2024