Dan Skelton lands another billionaire backer as ‘the cleverest man to ever place a bet’ sends him £160,000 horse

CHAMPION trainer Dan Skelton has landed another billionaire backer – with it being confirmed the ‘cleverest man to ever place a bet’ has sent him a £160,000 horse. Brighton supremo Tony Bloom, who has a net worth of around £1.3billion, has joined the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson and Harry Redknapp in having a runner with the Lodge Hill handler. Brighton supremo Tony Bloom has had huge success over jumps and on the Flat – now he is entrusting Dan Skelton to deliver him more victories after sending him a £160,000 horse Credit: PA Champion trainer Skelton is building a truly formidable squad for the start of the jumps season proper Credit: PA Bloom, who made his fortune playing poker and betting on football, co-owns the hugely promising Different Story with pal Ian McAleavy. A staggering 64-length winner on debut last February, she was only put into the lead two from home in the three-mile chase at Oldtown but showed bags of speed and staying power to win by a massive margin. Different Story has settled into life with Skelton and looks like being wheeled out when the weather turns, probably with an eye on the major spring festivals. Talking of the link-up, which was confirmed in the same week it was revealed billionaire Bet365 boss Denise Coates also has a horse with Skelton, Bloom’s racing manager Sean Graham said: “We’ve got a mare called Different Story with Dan Skelton. “She won her point-to-point and we had been looking for a horse to send to Dan for sometime and he put this one up to us having bought her after her point and he was very happy with her. “Tony and Ian have got involved with her and we’ll wait till the ground changes – if ever that happens, but she seems a nice mare and they are very happy with her. “Dan will do what he always does and find the right races and will bring her along slowly without going too far too quick with her and we’ll enjoy it and see where it takes us.” Skelton’s already sizeable squad appears to be increasing at a rapid rate as more and more top owners place their faith in him. Most read in Horse Racing Johnny de la Hay removed all his horses from Paul Nicholls earlier this year and sent multiple Grade 1-winning chaser Pic D’Orhy his way, along with six others. Sir Alex has had great success with the likes of Protektorat being trained to Cheltenham Festival glory by Skelton. Redknapp has £360,000 purchase Kaiser Ball – who finished third behind Willie Mullins’ subsequent Turners Novices’ Hurdle hero King Rasko Grey on debut – with Skelton. He looks every inch the Cheltenham Festival type for the legendary football boss, whose King George winner The Jukebox Man returns later this season. Arguably the most exciting of all of Skelton’s new recruits, though, is Coates’ Push The Limit. Bought for £580,000, the former Ralph Beckett inmate is a Glorious Goodwood winner who looks all speed. The four-year-old chestnut has been impressing his new boss at home but a racecourse debut in his new colours was delayed to give him a proper shot at a full campaign. Push The Limit, who will race under the ownership name of Coates-Smith Racing Lp, is a half-brother to dual Cheltenham heroine Wodhooh and is currently as short as 33-1 for the Supreme. Skelton said: “We feel very luck to have the family’s support. “We did lots with the horse last year but we felt physically he was still to turn a corner and switch fully to jumps mode. “He did jump very, very nicely but we felt like a bit of time, given he was such a young horse, would be no negative. “He is only a four-year-old and I think the best thing we’ve done is give him that time. “He is moving particularly well, he’s quite a flashy character and we liked everything we saw. “By the time you get mid-way through the season we felt he was better off having a full run at novice season. “Physically I can only say that has been the right thing to do.” FREE BETS – GET THE BEST SIGN UP DEALS AND RACING OFFERS Commercial content notice: Taking one of the offers featured in this article may result in a payment to The Sun. You should be aware brands pay fees to appear in the highest placements on the page. 18+. T&Cs apply. gambleaware.org. Remember to gamble responsibly A responsible gambler is someone who: Establishes time and monetary limits before playing Only gambles with money they can afford to lose Never chases their losses Doesn’t gamble if they’re upset, angry or depressed Gamcare – www.gamcare.org.uk Gamble Aware – www.gambleaware.org Find our detailed guide on responsible gambling practices here. Comment now