Challow Hurdle champion The New Lion has been sold to JP McManus, with previous owner Darren Yates announcing his intention to leave racing at the end of the season.
The six-year-old won each of his four starts for Dan and Harry Skelton, with a maiden win in the Market Racine bumper in the spring, followed by a hat-trick of wins over hurdles.
He was hugely impressive when he successfully graduated to A-level at Newbury over the festive period, giving Yates and his wife Annalee their first taste of success at the highest level.
Yeats invested huge sums in buying racehorses, most notably spending £620,000 on Interconnected, which subsequently failed to win a race.
However, in a deal that appears to have been brokered by fellow owner Paul Byrne – who had previously sold several of his horses to McManus – Yates decided to part with his prized asset.
Elaborating on the reasons behind the decision on Nick Luck's Daily Podcast, he said: “At the beginning of the season, Analee and I made the decision that we were considering exiting racing altogether.
“Different things in our lives, grandkids, times are changing. But when I talked to Dan (Skelton) about it, he said: 'Look, for the first time ever, you've got a great team.' “You have the likes of New Lion and Cherry Dam, all of which you can sell now with distribution, but you won’t get the value.”
The new lion
“I said 'Okay, I'm ready to move on', and obviously that was a risk as well, with the horse only a day away from being injured. 'Let's try to make it a goal to try to win a Grade 1', I said to Dan. “He believes it can certainly be achieved with the ammunition we have.”
Yates revealed that the decision to sell The New Lion to McManus had been in the works for some time and that he had bet on him winning the first division to maximize its value.
Yates continued: “I've been very loyal to Dan and he's been fantastic – him, Harry (Skelton) and the whole team. If any of my horses go to sales, you don't really know where they'll end up.” .
“It developed because Paul Byrne, a very good friend of mine from Ireland, was really teasing me after The New Lion's win at Chepstow. He liked the horse and asked me if I wanted to sell him, so I said I would.” I would love to keep going and see if we can win the first grade. He said it was too risky and I said it was my risk.
“What I know from being involved in racing is that you can't buy a good horse like this – it doesn't exist. Or if it does exist, it will never be offered for sale.
“Paul came to me again, because he really believed in the horse, as I did, and I think from what I see, he has an amazing relationship with JB. I think JB is a very special man, and there is a lot of trust in him. With Paul and I said this would be special between us.” If we make a deal.
“One of the things I asked Paul to talk to JB about is that Dan will continue to train and Harry will continue to ride. JB, like a gentleman, said that wouldn’t be an issue going forward.
“If it wasn't for Paul Byrne, the deal wouldn't have happened. I wasn't really interested in going to sales and I liked the way it worked out.”
While The New Lion will carry McManus' green and gold silks, Yates revealed he retains an “additional interest” in Cave's son Tara, who is expected to head straight to the Cheltenham Festival in March.
He added: “The deal suits GB very well and suits me very well. Obviously I'm not going to go into it, because GB wanted to keep it private, which is great for me, but it gives me an interest in transporting horses.” Also forward, let's call it an additional benefit, depending on what he does in the future.
“I think JP was happy to do it and I was happy to do it. Even if I didn't have a kicker, I'm not the kind of guy who sells a horse and wants it to do poorly – I'm desperate for him to win at Cheltenham.”
Yates still has several other horses with Skelton, including the high-profile mare Cherie d'Am, who is headed to the Grade 2 Trustatrader Hampton Novices' Chase at Warwick on Saturday.
However, it also appears set to be put on the market at some point, with Yates citing the treatment of owners as one of the key factors in his decision to leave the sport.
“Because I sold The New Lion, by the end of the season I will be completely out,” he said.
“Today's experience is amazing and winning the first class was amazing, but it's too short when you look at all the other things you have to put up with in the race.
“I think the owners are not taking care of it properly. I think once I'm out, I'm out.”
“You spend your life looking for a horse like New Lion, but I don't see the value in it – and I'm not sure where the sport will end up.”
