Skyjack Hijack

The key to understanding Skyjack Hijack is his jumping. Jockey Sean Quinlan, who has ridden him to 4 wins from 10 races together, has compared his speed and accuracy over hurdles to a Champion Hurdle horse — the biggest prize in the sport for this type of racing. That is a bold thing to say, but it points at something real: some horses jump carefully and lose time, others jump fluidly and gain it. Skyjack Hijack clearly does the latter. Trainer Jennie Candlish, who runs a yard in Staffordshire that has sent out 64 winners this season alone, has described his jumping as "a joy," particularly on faster, drier ground where his athleticism over the obstacles becomes an outright weapon.

Recent form has been patchier — his last six runs show a mix of placed and unplaced efforts around that Newcastle win — and trainer Candlish has been candid that Cheltenham perhaps wasn't quite his track, suggesting Aintree might suit him better. That kind of honesty from a trainer is worth noting; it suggests a team that understands their horse rather than just running him everywhere and hoping. The plan is to bring him back on better ground in the spring, with a possible tilt at a prestigious three-mile hurdle at Doncaster in his sights. For a horse that was still finding himself as recently as 18 months ago, the trajectory since has been almost startling.