Fitzdares Fleur de Lys Chase
Protektorat won the Fleur de Lys Chase at Windsor for the 2nd year in a row on Sunday. All of the data from TPD would suggest that the Skelton’s 10-year-old son of Saint des Saints is perfectly suited to the Berkshire track and against these rivals, Harry Skelton gave him the perfect ride. Admittedly this was a slower time than when he won the race 12 months ago and some might argue that beating Djelo last season was a stronger piece of form than getting the better of Resplendent Grey in 2026. However, the course has been changed since last year and the figure of 8 rotation probably doesn’t play to his strengths as much as the left-handed turns last season as the greater emphasis was put on stamina this time around. On both trips to Windsor, Harry Skelton has looked to make use of him and much like last season, Protektorat was able to get to the front with an early burst of speed as he ran the fastest opening furlong splits. His jumping largely held together and even though an average speed loss of 12% over his fences was less fluent than the 10.5% that he lost in 2025, it was sufficient to maintain the momentum that he had in front.
There was a stop/start pace set by Harry Skelton, who appeared keen to press on at certain parts of the race before trying to conserve some energy for the finish, most notably as the field came around the bottom loop for the final time. His furlong rankings ranged from 1st to 5th in the space of 3 furlongs at that point of the contest, but between the final 3 fences, Protektorat had the late speed necessary to apply some pressure to his rivals and that ultimately proved to be enough to get him home. A late speed figure of 28.13 mph was only marginally quicker than the 28.07 mph recorded by Resplendent Grey under Sean Bowen and the latter did record the better final furlong time. However, this trip is probably the minimum distance that Resplendent Grey requires, whereas history shows us that Protektorat isn’t likely to stay any further than 2 miles and 6 furlongs, so the fact that the runner-up was closing is more a testament to stamina than any perceived track position.
The Pace Chart for this race clearly shows the variations in the speed, which is a reflection of both the tight turning nature of the track and also the way that Harry Skelton managed the pace aboard the leader. If we ignore the opening furlong, where the leaders are being sent forward to get into their racing position, then we can see a wide variation in the pace being set, with Protektorat recording a low of 25 mph and a high of 34.4 mph. The decision to return the course to the figure of 8 layout that it follows on the Flat has indirectly led to this result which has allowed Harry Skelton to control the pace in front. Having taken a breather and allowed his mount to fill up around the bottom loop, he tacked across to the rail and was then able to use his speed to assert in the closing stages. This pace was never likely to suit Resplendent Grey, who recorded the highest average stride frequency in the field at 2.14 per second and who would clearly prefer a stiffer test. After a disappointing run in the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury, this was much more like the form he showed when beating Handstands at Carlisle in November and allowing for a 2 lb swing at the weights in his favour, he has upheld that form in this race.
I think it would be tempting to assume that this was the “big day” for Protektorat. He has won this race twice now and he was only 2 lengths behind L’Homme Presse when it was run at Lingfield in 2024, a rival that he was 9 lbs wrong at the weights with at the time. This clearly suits and the wind surgery that he had following his return at Cheltenham in November has perhaps brought out some further improvement. However, after winning this in 2025 he went on to finish 4th in the Ryanair behind Fact to File and then 2nd to Jonbon in the Melling Chase at Aintree. Whilst I think it is fair to say that his chances of winning another Grade 1 are slim at the age of 10, it’s not impossible to think that he could win another race around this level in the right conditions.