Dan Skelton’s Ryanair hero Protektorat has the My Pension Expert Melling Chase in his sights at Aintree.

The nine-year-old comes into the meeting off the back of a triumphant Cheltenham Festival, where he was the winner of the Ryanair Chase by a convincing four lengths.

There was subsequently some talk of him stepping back up in distance in Liverpool but, as the ground is set to be testing, connections have decided to stick at the two-and-a-half-mile trip over which he won the Manifesto Novices’ Chase on Merseyside in 2021.

Skelton said: “We decided we’d stick to two and a half on this ground. I think if the ground was really decent, we’d have made a different decision but when the ground is like this, the decision is almost made for you.

“We’ll go and give it a whirl and I’m very happy with him at home – he flew up the hill on Tuesday morning.

“For some reason, he’s taking his racing better than he ever has, I don’t know whether that’s age, strength or a combination, but he’s in good form.”

Paul Nicholls has Pic D’Orhy in the race, last year’s winner and a horse enjoying a good season so far, having won twice in three runs.

He took both the 1965 Chase and the Ascot Chase either side of finishing second in the Silviniaco Conti Chase at Kempton in January behind Joseph O’Brien’s Banbridge.

“I’ve always believed in this horse and am very proud of what he has achieved over the last two seasons,” the trainer told Betfair.

“With a better jump at the last fence, it would have been even closer between him and Banbridge in the Silviniaco Conti Chase at Kempton and he was giving 3lb to the narrow winner.

“That was a career best by Pic D’Orhy, who is in top form at home and beat two smart horses at Ascot last time.

“There are some classy types in opposition again in this Grade One but he is classy, too, and I’ve kept him for this race, which he won 12 months ago. He worked impressively on Saturday.”

Nicky Henderson’s Jonbon missed his Cheltenham engagement as the stable was in ill health but he returns to action for this race for a step up in trip, having been a two-miler to date.

His most recent run came in the rerouted Clarence House Chase, held at Cheltenham as the Ascot meeting was abandoned due to frost, where he finished second to an outsider in Joe Tizzard’s Elixir De Nutz.

“The Clarence House was disappointing, he never got into a rhythm on the day to be fair. He hadn’t settled into it as one would have liked and he got untidy,” Henderson told Unibet.

“Having said that, you felt he was still a little bit unlucky not to win really, but it would have been a messy performance.

“I’m looking forward to running him over two and a half (miles) for the first time because I think that really will suit him.

“He’s a horse that wants to be going forwards, and then he can really enjoy himself. He’s been in very good form and Nico (de Boinville) has been schooling him every other day and he loves it.

“I’m hopeful, everybody is happy with him. He might be better on good ground but he’s won on soft and heavy and when he’s right, I think he’s very good. I think he’s a horse the others have to beat.

“If he gets this far, how far will he get? He could just be like Shishkin. He’s proving himself at two miles but why switch, but he jumped from two to three miles in one season?”

Elsewhere in the race is Envoi Allen, Henry de Bromhead’s 2023 Ryanair Chase winner who finished second in the contest this year.

Gordon Elliott will saddle Conflated, a Gigginstown House Stud-owned 10-year-old who took the third-place spot in the Ryanair and has been chosen for this contest over the Grand National.

Willie Mullins has a single runner in Easy Game, whereas Donald McCain runs last season’s Melling third in Minella Drama.

Protektorat proved dropping back in trip was no issue when producing a brilliant display to claim the Ryanair Chase for the red-hot Dan Skelton team at the Cheltenham Festival.

A Grade One winner over three miles, he was third and fifth when tried in the Cheltenham Gold Cup in the past two years and connections resisted taking a third crack at the blue riband to revert to one of the day three features

There was plenty of pace on show with Stage Star and Ahoy Senor leading the field along, with Protektorat among those right on that duo’s tail in the hands of Harry Skelton.

Having travelled menacingly into contention it appeared 9-4 favourite and defending champion Envoi Allen was the one the front-runners had to worry about heading into the straight, but neither Stage Star or Protektorat were ready to give up the fight and although Stage Star faded after two out there was still plenty of fight left in Protektorat.

There was little to separate Protektorat and Henry de Bromhead’s charge jumping the final fence, but it was Protektorat’s stamina reserves which then came to the fore late in the day as the 17-2 chance stormed up the Cheltenham hill to victory.

It was Skelton’s fourth victory at this year’s Festival, and also the second in the space of 40 minutes for the collective of owners that include Sir Alex Ferguson and John Hales – whose famous yellow colours Skelton donned in the saddle.

Dan Skelton believes there are “no negatives” as he prepares to send Protektorat into battle against Shishkin in Saturday’s Betfair Denman Chase at Newbury.

Nicky Henderson’s Shishkin will be a warm order to open his account for the campaign, having looked the likely winner of the King George VI Chase before unseating Nico de Boinville two fences from home.

However, in Protektorat he faces a high-class and race-fit rival who Skelton is confident heads into the Grade Two contest in rude health.

He said: “He’s in great form and we were always going for this race. Shishkin has turned up and we can’t choose our opposition, but we’ll give it a good go.

“We’re very happy with our horse and there are no negatives.”

Protektorat only ran three times last season, with a brilliant victory in the Betfair Chase followed by a fourth-placed finish in the Cotswold Chase and fifth in the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

The nine-year-old disappointed when defending his Betfair Chase crown at Haydock in November, but bounced back when finishing third under a big weight at Cheltenham the following month before chasing home leading Gold Cup contender L’Homme Presse in the Fleur De Lys Chase at Lingfield three weeks ago.

With his charge having been beaten in the last two renewals of the blue riband at Cheltenham, Skelton is happy to campaign him a little more aggressively this term, adding: “He seems in great form and why not run him?

“You can sometimes get to the end of a horse’s career and wish you’d ran them a bit more, so we’re happy to give it a go.”

Henderson is similarly pleased with Shishkin’s preparation, as the former star two-miler looks to establish himself as a genuine Gold Cup contender.

“Nico rode him out on Saturday morning and schooled him Wednesday morning. He jumped five fences and there was no point in him jumping any more,” said the Seven Barrows handler.

“I do think he is in good form and he was very sharp Wednesday morning. Nico said he felt in terrific form and we’re happy on that score.

“He’s pretty versatile in terms of ground, I don’t think you would want him in very, very soft ground, but we don’t have much option. He has to go here, as there is nowhere else to go and he needs a race.”

Whether Shishkin would have held off the fast-finishing Hewick had he completed the King George course is open to question, but Henderson said: “I think he would have won. Whatever the result, it was a very good run for what was effectively his first run of the season.

“Nico, from what he told me, felt he would have won. Obviously, he didn’t see the unfolding of the race after the last like we did and the Irish horse (Hewick) came home with a right rattle down the outside.

“He should come on for that and he needs to have another run if he is to run in the Gold Cup, which we are hoping to do.

“It’s the ideal race, as Newbury is a lovely track and it’s nice and local for us.

“With Protektorat running, he will probably be guaranteed a good gallop and it will be handy just to get a lead, I suppose. He’s very happy leading and Nico was very happy to send him on in the King George, as he felt the race needed keeping honest – so he would be very happy if he did end up in front.”

Shishkin will line up with form figures of R and U, having refused to start on his seasonal reappearance at Ascot prior to his fine effort before coming to grief at Kempton on Boxing Day.

While not counting his chickens, Henderson is hopeful there will be no pre-race antics on Saturday.

He added: “He can be a character and the odd thing about him is at the beginning of the season, I suppose when he’s very fresh in that build-up period, he can be a bit of a plonker.

“When he’s stroppy, he’s stroppy, but he only really does it at the beginning and now where we are with a race under his belt, he’s no problem at all.

“I won’t say I don’t see any problems, as you always have it in the back of your mind, but he was very good at Kempton on what would be quite a tricky start for him, going away from the stables and paddock.”

Paul Nicholls has saddled a record 10 previous winners of the race, with his Gold Cup heroes See More Business (2000), Kauto Star (2007) and Denman (2008) among those on the roll of honour.

This time around, the Ditcheat maestro saddles last year’s runner-up Hitman, who has finished tailed off in each of his two starts so far this term.

“He needed the run at Cheltenham last month after his latest wind op and has come on nicely for the outing,” Nicholls told Betfair.

“I’m hopeful he can pick up some place money before another crack at the Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham.”

Kim Bailey’s Does He Know and the Anthony Honeyball-trained Sam Brown are the other hopefuls.

Dan Skelton is keen to get Protektorat back on the racecourse “relatively quickly” following his disappointing defence of the Betfair Chase at Haydock on Saturday.

The eight-year-old was a brilliant winner of the Merseyside Grade One 12 months ago, but after travelling well on the front end for a long way in his bid for back-to-back victories, he weakened out of contention before the home turn and trailed home last of four runners behind Royale Pagaille.

Skelton reported his star chaser to have emerged relatively unscathed on Sunday morning and he plans to give him another run before the end of 2023, after which a tilt at the the £165,000 Fleur de Lys Chase at Lingfield on January 21 is on the agenda.

“He’s a bit stiff, but he’s fine. We’ll get him right and go again,” said the Alcester-based trainer.

“Yesterday wasn’t our day and take nothing away from the winner, it was a fabulous performance.

“We were happy with our horse going into it and I’m not making any excuses. Sometimes you get beat and you’ve just got to dust yourself down and go again.

“What I want to do is run him somewhere relatively quickly, between now and the new year, and then look at the Winter Million race for him. It’s worth an awful lot of money and will probably be run on ground that he’ll really enjoy.”

Protektorat’s options over the festive period include the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day and the Savills Chase at Leopardstown two days later, with nothing off the table at this stage.

Skelton added: “I’ve got to talk to connections first, but there’s only a handful of races that he’s eligible for, so we’ll have to consider them all.”

Dan Skelton plans to have his stable star Protektorat “properly ready” for his defence of the Betfair Chase at Haydock next month.

The eight-year-old ran out an impressive winner of the Merseyside Grade One last season and was last seen finishing fifth in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, having placed third in the blue riband in 2022.

And while Skelton is not ruling out a third bid for Gold Cup glory in March, his main focus at this stage is ensuring Protektorat is fully tuned up for his comeback run on November 25.

He said: “We will be going to Haydock fresh and ready for the Betfair Chase. From what I’ve seen, he has not gone backwards in any way. The way we will have him ready for that race is that we will have him properly ready. I think it will take a good one on the day to beat him.

“He will have an entry in the King George at Kempton and we will look at that. We will have to look sensibly at the Gold Cup as we have had two goes at it and it hasn’t happened yet, but we will worry about the spring when we get to it.

“Anything is possible at this point and what happens before March will dictate whether he should be there or not.

“If all of a sudden he found 10lb of improvement then you would have to have another go at the Gold Cup, but if the opposition have perfect seasons you might think you are better doing something else. We will do what is right for the horse.”

My Drogo has not been seen in competitive action bolting up in a novice chase at Cheltenham in December 2021, having missed the entirety of last season through injury.

However, the eight-year-old is on the comeback trail, with Skelton eyeing up some major prizes.

“He is back now and I’m delighted with how he looks,” said the trainer.

“I’d like to try and start him off in the Old Roan (at Aintree). That would be the perfect scenario. It was a shame he missed last season as you don’t want to be missing one of your stars.

“Every time he has stood up over obstacles he is unbeaten. He was improving until his problems, and we would like to pick up from where he left off. If we can go to the Old Roan on really nice ground that will give him the opportunity to step forward.

“He will have an entry in the Paddy Power Gold Cup (at Cheltenham) and Richard and Lizzie Kelvin-Hughes who own him are mad keen to get him to the King George at Kempton on Boxing Day, so we are trying to work him towards that.

“He looks fantastic and is behaving beautifully. He has as much ability as any horse I’ve had, and you have to take that seriously.”

Skelton confirmed Nube Negra is likely to make his return in next month’s Shloer Chase at Cheltenham, which he won last season.