Take No Chances

The two biggest moments of her career came in the space of just over two months. She won at Wetherby in November 2024, and then at Ascot in January 2025 — a famous old track where she clearly rises to the occasion. That Ascot win is worth dwelling on. Jockey Kielan Woods, riding her that day, admitted he thought he was in trouble when a rival appeared at his shoulder on the home turn, but Take No Chances had the race fitness and the stamina to hold on. Dan Skelton had told him she would stay — and she did. Those moments, when trainer and jockey are right about a horse in a big race, are exactly what the sport is built on.

Her best results come on normal ground, where she has won 3 from 9 races — a third of her starts in those conditions. That is a significant edge. Skelton has also been careful with her this season, running her less often to keep her fresh, and has spoken about her as being "super-consistent" and no less the horse she was — high praise for an 8-year-old who finished third behind Lossiemouth, one of the best mares in training, last year. The trainer believes she will "run her race and be bang there" when the big occasion comes.

She has not won in her last six races, but the recent form — second, third, third, fourth, second — tells its own story. She is placing almost every time out. Harry Skelton, the trainer's brother, is her regular partner and has ridden her to 3 of her 5 wins from 18 races together. The Skelton yard has sent out 194 winners this season alone, which is a remarkable operation, and Take No Chances is clearly one of the horses they believe in most. She raced just yesterday and remains very much in the thick of things.