Reigning British champion Willie Mullins and Dan Skelton are sending strong squads for the BetGoodwin Easter Festival on Sunday, April 20 and Monday, April 21.

The two-day fixture offers £450,000 in prize money across 14 races, providing potential for a significant impact as the British championship reaches its conclusion later this month.

Mullins closed the deficit on Skelton dramatically at Aintree’s Grand National Festival and Ayr’s Scottish National Festival. Skelton hit back this week, however, by taking the feature Grade 2 handicap chase at Cheltenham.

Sussex Champion Hurdle

Reigning Irish and British champion Mullins has four of the 11 runners in the £75,000 BetGoodwin Sussex Champion Hurdle on Sunday, with Skelton responsible for two runners in the field.

Mullins will also have King Alexander and Mr Escobar in the £30,000 Phoenix Cycles Remember Ray Prior Handicap Hurdle later on the Sunday card, with Mostly Sunny set to represent Skelton.

The English hander will have a total of nine runners at the Easter Sunday meeting as he attempts to hold off the Mullins challenge.

Bank Holiday Monday

The Bank Holiday feature at the track is the £100,00 BetGoodwin Sussex Champion Chase with Mullins set to have four runners to Skelton’s one.

The Closutton handler will also have runners in the £45,000 Southern Cranes Novices’ Handicap Hurdle, and in the £23,000 BetGoodwin Free Bet On Nose Losers Open NH Flat Race, while Skelton will have a strong team of 12 runners on Monday.

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Ridden by Harry Skelton for his brother Dan, the son of Kayf Tara was recently purchased for an undisclosed sum by McManus following an impressive win in the Grade 1 Challow Hurdle at Newbury.

Despite the very poor record of Challow Hurdle winners in the Turners’ Novice – 0 from 20 – prior to today, The New Lion looked comfortable throughout the two mile five furlongs contest.

With Gordon Elliott’s The Yellow Clay (5/2) leading into the home straight, race favourite Final Demand (6/4) from the Willie Mullins yard soon challenged on his outside, before The New Lion easily joined both before the final flight.

Though the six-year-old The New Lion had to reach for the final flight, he remained composed under Harry Skelton to win by three-quarters of a length.

The winning rider said:

“We always had belief in him. We knew there was something a bit different about him when we got him. He needed to mature, and he’s come here and done it in the one that really matters. That’s a big thing.”

The Jack Kennedy-ridden The Yellow Clay, winner at Naas in January, was runner-up for Bective Stud and Gordon Elliott, with the handler admitting:

“He ran a brilliant race and Jack (Kennedy) has given him a peach of a ride and I couldn’t be happier with him. He is a good horse.

“I thought we got a beautiful run throughout the race and I don’t think there were any excuses anywhere. There was no hard luck story.”

Final Demand was four and three-quarter lengths further back in third for Paul Townend and Willie Mullins.

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