Challow Hurdle hero New Lion has been sold to JP McManus, with previous owner Darren Yates declaring his intention to retire from racing at the end of the season.
The six-year-old has won each of his four starts for Dan and Harry Skelton, with a debut win in the Market Rasen Bumper in the spring followed by a hat-trick of hurdle wins.
He was hugely impressive when he successfully graduated from first class at Newbury over the festive period, giving Yates and his wife Annaley their first taste of top success.
Yates invested huge sums in the purchase of racehorses, notably spending £620,000 on Interconnected, who subsequently failed to win a race.
However, in a deal which appears to have been brokered by fellow owner Paul Byrne – who had previously sold several of his horses to McManus – Yates has decided to part with his prized asset.
Explaining his decision in detail on Nick Luck's Daily Podcast, he said: “At the beginning of the season, Annaley and I really decided to think about getting out of racing altogether.
“Different things in our lives, grandchildren – times change. But when I spoke to Dan (Skelton) about it, he said 'Look, for the first time ever, you've got a top team. New Lion and Cherie d'Am You can sell them all in the scatter, but you won't get the value.
The new lion
“I said 'OK, I'm ready to go' and obviously that was a risk too, because the horse is only a day away from injury. I said to Dan 'Let's try and make a target out of trying to win a grade one' and he said he thought that it is definitely achievable 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 gambled on it to get a Grade One to maximize its value.
“I've been very loyal to Dan and he's been amazing – him, Harry (Skelton) and the whole team. And if any of my horses went up for sale, you don't know where they're going to end up,” continued Yates.
“This developed because Paul Byrne, who is a very good friend of mine from Ireland, was really struggling after the New Lion won at Chepstow. He loved the horse and asked me if I would like to sell him, I said I would love to to go on and see if we can win the first class. He said it was a big risk and I said it was my risk.
“What I know from being at the races myself is that you can't buy a good horse like this – they just don't exist. Or if they exist, they never sell.
“Paul came to me again, because he really believed in the horse, as I did, and I think from what I can see, he has an amazing relationship with JP. I think that JP is a very private person, there is a lot of trust there. Paul and I said this would be private between us if we agreed.
“One of the things I asked Paul to discuss with JP is that Dan will continue to train and Harry will continue to ride. JP, being a gentleman, said it wouldn't be a problem to move on.
“Without Paul Byrne, the deal wouldn't have happened. I wasn't really interested in going for sale and I like the way it happened.”
While The New Lion will wear the green and gold silks of McManus going forward, Yates revealed he retains a 'bonus interest' in the son of Kayf Tara, who is expected to go straight to the Cheltenham Festival in March.
He added: “The deal suits JP very well and suits me very well. Obviously I'm not going to get into it because JP wanted to keep it private, which is great with me, but I'm interested in the movement of the horses. Let's call it a bonus interest, depending what does he do 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 type of person to sell a horse and want it to be bad – I'm desperate for him to win Cheltenham .”
Yates still owns several other horses with Skelton, including the high-class mare Cherie d'Am, who goes in the Trustatrader Hampton Novice Chase at Warwick on Saturday.
However, it also looks set to go on the market at some stage, with Yates citing the treatment of the owners as one of the main factors in his decision to leave the sport.
“Since I sold New Lion, I will be completely out by the end of the season,” he said.
“The experience of the day is amazing and to get the first grade was amazing, but they are very short-lived when you look at all the other things you have to endure in racing.
“I don't think the owners ever take care of it properly.
“You spend your whole life looking for a horse like New Lion, but I just don't see the value in that – I'm not sure where the sport is going to end up.”