THERE were Cheltenham Festival clues a plenty at Warwick on Saturday as Dan and Harry Skelton combined for a Grade 2 double after Gary Moore’s Haddex Des Obeaux (151+) put his name forward for a tilt at the Grand Annual.

Despite there only being four runners, the pace was strong in the Hampton Novices’ Chase as Galia Des Liteaux (149+) and Complete Unknown (141) eyeballed each other from flag fall.

Victory went the way of the former courtesy of her courageous jumping down the back straight which took the favourite out of his comfort zone.

There was also merit to the seven-year-old’s finishing effort as she covered the ground from the second last fence in 59.6secs which, given the distance, compared favorably with the 62.2secs taken by Iwilldoit (140) in the Classic Chase.

Jamie Moore enjoyed a similar ride to Harry Skelton aboard Haddex Des Obeaux who attacked the back straight fences with exuberance before coasting to a closing sectional of 57.0secs.

The final circuit analysis also revealed Gary Moore’s six-year-old was quicker as he covered the ground 5.2secs quicker than Galia Des Liteaux.

Grey Dawning (143+) completed the Skelton double with a strong staying performance in the Leamington Novices’ Hurdle. A split screen comparison with Glimpse Of Gala (132) suggests the Grade 2 winner triumphed by 5.7secs or 28 lengths when joining the races together at the first hurdle jumped simultaneously.

However, the final circuit time and closing sectionals swung back in favour of Charlie Longsdon’s mare by 2.0secs and 2.7secs respectively as the seven-year-old showed she can quicken, as well as slug it out, in a tight finish.

Soft ground would appear to be prerequisite for her to produce her best.

Richmond Lake (147), Wetherby, Saturday 14th January – left a modest chase debut behind to win impressively in a fast time, maybe has a preference for going left handed

Blackjack Magic (141), Exeter, Tuesday 10th January – benefitted from a combination of tongue tie and stepping up in trip to register first chase win, can win again

West Balboa (149), Kempton, Saturday 14th January – stayed on stoutly to win a strongly run handicap hurdle, can defy an increased rating before competing at a higher level.