Protektorat: a very special horse – with Harry Skelton

Meet a star of the stables as friend of Schöffel Country Harry Skelton shares the story of Protektorat, the horse whose journey from wild novice to the pinnacle of the sport exemplifies the heart and fight that define the world of racing.

It was still dark outside as the kettle boiled in the office at Dan Skelton’s yard. Through the window, a warm glow was just visible from a line of stables opposite. Steam rose from the entrance to each as mucking-out duties began.

Harry sat at the desk and sipped a coffee before a large, colourful board on the wall. “This is how we plan the day and organise the routine for every horse,” he explained as he plucked a yellow card from its slot and moved it left two columns. “There are cards for close to 200 horses here. The colours relate to the different yards the horses are living at.”

The board, we’d learn, is a point of reference for all the staff, so they can see what every horse is doing on any given day. It might be a rest day, a session on the walker, some time in the school, or work on the gallops.

Harry’s brother Dan entered, said hello, and pulled up a pew beside him. “The horses are like your family,” Harry added, scribbling on his notepad as he went. “I know every one of these horses inside out. I know their strengths, their weaknesses, the sort of rider they want at home... And that helps us tailor their routine to bring the best out of them.”

Never taken for granted

Harry pointed out a few names of the younger horses that excite him. “You’re always looking forward,” he said. “You’re always looking for the next special horse. And we have a good number that come under the banner of ‘could be anything’, with a lot of potential. That’s exciting; the unknown is exciting...”

He was quick, though, to point out that when a special horse does come along, they don’t take it for granted. Just 15 yards the other side of the office door, relaxing in a pristine stable, was arguably the most special horse with its name on that board – the one Harry and Dan must hope their youngsters will emulate. We were eager to meet him.

“Protektorat is different,” said Harry as he slipped a packet of Polos from his pocket and shared one with the placid bay gelding. “Horses like him just don’t come along very often.”

Harry Skelton, wearing a red gilet arranges a scheduling board with labels indicating the planned activities for the horses.

The first job of the day: sorting out ‘the board’ and confirming what each horse will be doing. One of the country’s top jockeys, Harry is on course to win the inaugural David Power Jockeys’ Cup this season.

But it wasn’t love at first sight. Harry explained how Protektorat arrived at the yard as a three-year-old in September 2018, with one run – a race in Auteuil, France – to his name. “At the beginning, he was very headstrong and a bit wild to be honest. It wasn’t easy.

“His first time out for us was actually in December that year, in the juvenile hurdle at Cheltenham,” he remembered. “It didn’t go very well. I ended up on floor after a bad mistake at the fourth hurdle, and he galloped off loose!”

When things begin to click

Harry put Protektorat’s tricky start down to his transition to new surroundings and routine. “That change in a relatively short space of time – of trainer and the way of doing things – is hard for a young horse,” he said. “It does take time for horses to acclimatise.”

The young horse’s first season comprised two more races – a fifth place at Cheltenham and a seventh place at Kempton, before he had the summer off. It wasn’t until the following year that things started to click into place for him. “He was still very keen,” said Harry. “But in his day to day work he was more relaxed and noticeably calmer.”

During that time, he’d grown more used to his daily routine and the people around him. And he was starting to show the grit and heart that still sets him apart. “That’s what makes Protektorat special,” Harry continued, rubbing the horse’s muzzle. “He always wants to give 110%. His fight and his heart are what separate him; he won’t give up.”

It’s a trait the team must be mindful of, too, according to Harry. “Izzy [Algieri], who rides Protektorat out every day, has a great relationship with him,” he carried on. “And underpinning that is a lot of patience. I tend to take him out twice a week. He tries to fight you a lot of the time, because he always wants to do more.

Harry Skelton shares a close moment with horse Protektorat in the stable, touching noses as the horse leans over the stall door, wrapped in a navy blanket

Harry describes Protektorat as very kind and placid in the stables. But he switches on when it comes to his work.

“I suppose the best way to put it,’ he said, “is that we have to keep the lid on him so he doesn’t burn himself out. If it was up to him, he’d gallop as hard and as fast as he could every day. You’ve got to manage him carefully, otherwise he’d be like a runaway train.”

It was hard to imagine as we stood there and the placid horse nibbled playfully at Harry’s jacket. According to Harry, he’s very different in the stable. “He loves the attention and he’s very kind. My 10-month-old son, Rory, could sit on him – that’s how laid back he is. It’s quite rare for a racehorse.”

The moments and the people

Several times during our visit, the conversation came back to the people who Harry has met through racing. Bar the horses themselves, and the thrill of galloping at 30mph and jumping over huge hedges to the sound of roaring crowds, it is the people, it seems, that makes racing so special.

“Protektorat is a great example of a horse through whom we’ve met or continued to build a relationship with some great people,” explained Harry, alluding to the horse’s owners. “I’ll always look back very fondly on our big win together last year, in the Ryanair Chase at the Cheltenham Festival. Not just because of the significance of the race or the way that he won it, but the fact that John Hales, a great friend of ours who passed away recently, was there to see it.

“We have a lot of fond memories with John, and some of them have involved Protektorat, who John owned with Sir Alex Ferguson and Ged Mason – also great supporters of ours. That’s what horses can do. They give so much really. They give us an awful lot of enjoyment and they bring people together.”

A long career

At 10 years old, it seems Protektorat still has much more to give. And that, according to Harry, is down to his brother Dan’s approach to training him. “He could be coming into his absolute peak now. Dan hasn’t overraced him. He’s managed him incredibly well and preserved his career with longevity in mind.

“He might be a three-time grade one winner, but we haven’t been to the well too many times, and because of that I hope we have a long career with him.”

We couldn’t move on without discussing that win last year in more detail. The big one: the Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham. “From two out he showed what sort of horse he is that day,” Harry said, smiling. “The further he went up that hill, the further he put his head down, the more he tried and the more he wanted it. It’s the horses that can kick in at the back end of a race like that, turn on the afterburners, and find more, that stand out. And that’s what he can do when everything is right.

“Hopefully this year, when we go back to the scene of the crime, he can do it all again...”

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