IF you want to be the best, it makes sense to learn from the best. Dan Skelton has only ever had two bosses: his father, the Olympic gold medal-winning show jumper Nick Skelton, and 11-time champion trainer Paul Nicholls.

To say that the bar of his expectations was set high right from the start of his training career in 2013 is an understatement, but it is was a level which the ambitious 35-year-old was quickly able to meet. Two seasons in, he notched his first century, and in each of the last two National Hunt seasons he has recorded the highest tally of winners – a staggering 205 in 2018/19 – when finishing third in the table to Nicholls and Nicky Henderson.