This article is from Racing Post and is for me and my party who watched on from the final fence and after Protektorat’s victory from the winners parade.
I’m so happy to have been at a racecourse at a time when a horse, a rider and thousands of people were as one in happiness!
Taken from a phone by a smiling Plowman – Protektorat and Harry Skelton
‘This is what they’ve come for’ – Protektorat raises the roof with repeat Fleur de Lys win to smash through £1m barrier
🏆PROTEKTORAT WINS THE FITZDARES FLEUR DE LYS CHASE🏆
What a phenomenal horse😮💨 Back-to-back wins in this race#ITVRacing | @WindsorRaces | @harryskelton89 | @DSkeltonRacing pic.twitter.com/oWhe2Z2j7l
— ITV Racing (@itvracing) January 18, 2026
Protektorat sent Windsor into raptures after completing back-to-back wins in the Fitzdares Fleur de Lys Chase, and in the process secured his status as a millionaire.
Eleven going on seven, Protektorat was a handful from start to finish for rider Harry Skelton, but when the chips were down he came back swinging to register a popular three-and-three-quarter-length win in the feature race on the final day of the Berkshire Winter Million.
It was another significant victory for Dan Skelton in his bid to become champion jumps trainer in Britain, with Protektorat among three winners at the riverside track for the title leader, who also landed a treble at Fakenham. Skelton has now earned more than £2.8 million this season, while the £85,000 first prize took Protektorat’s career earnings to £1,007,059.
“This is what they’ve come for,” said winning rider Harry Skelton, who insisted Protektorat was paraded front and centre after the race. “It’s a great atmosphere and this is jump racing at its best. People come out to see good horses, and Protektorat has broken the £1 million marker.”
Best going left-handed, the return of the figure of eight configuration to Windsor’s jumps track wasn’t necessarily in Protektorat’s favour, and Skelton had his work cut out trying to negotiate the right-hand turns.
“He’s the hardest ride as a jockey I’ll probably ever have; he’s just hard to handle,” said the rider. “He loves running left-handed and runs with his head to one side. He can be very keen early on, but he has the constitution and will to win.”
Protektorat, who is owned in partnership by Sir Alex Ferguson, Ged Mason and the Hales family, was the last big winner for the late John Hales when scoring in the same race last year, and Skelton highlighted what a priceless horse the winner has been to everyone connected with him.
“For me to have a horse who has done what he’s done for my family and for those owners is incredible,” he added. “Whatever happens we’ll always remember Protektorat, and John Hales will be looking down and feeling very proud.
“These horses are really hard to find. He’s a racehorse – he wants to run. He’s a pleasure to have.”
Protektorat was cut to 16-1 (from 20) with Coral to repeat his 2024 win in the Ryanair Chase, although there was a distinct feeling that this was the day his season revolved around.
“He defies logic,” said assistant trainer Tom Messenger, currently running the Skelton show as his boss, who is 1-9 with Paddy Power to win a first title this season, enjoys a holiday in Barbados. “No horse should be able to go out that hard and keep going, but he’s got the greatest temperament and never lies down.
“He does a lot of things a little bit wrong, but a lot of things very, very right. He’s one in a million, and he’s nicked a million quid now.”
Having seen off the challenge of Handstands, Protektorat then kept Resplendent Grey at bay in the closing stages, with connections of the runner-up delighted with the performance of their eight-year-old.
“He’s run a cracker giving Protektorat weight and was back to his best,” said Resplendent Grey’s trainer Olly Murphy. “The winner has been an unbelievable servant to connections and our one has run very, very well to finish where he has. I don’t know what we’ll do next, but he’s one for these types of races.
“It’s sharp around here and he was in top gear from the moment he jumped off, but the one thing he does is stay very well.”
Ryanair Chase (Cheltenham Festival, March 12)
Coral: 6-4 Fact To File, 6 Gaelic Warrior, Janjo Baie, 8 Jonbon, Majborough, 10 Heart Wood, Romeo Coolio, The Jukebox Man, 14 Banbridge, Impaire Et Passe, 16 Il Etait Temps, Protektorat, 20 bar.
Ist Grönland ein Protektorat?
Nein, Grönland ist kein Protektorat im modernen völkerrechtlichen Sinne. Es ist ein autonomes Land innerhalb des Königreichs Dänemark. Obwohl es enge historische Verbindungen zu Dänemark hat – es war bis 1953 eine Kolonie –, agiert es heute als selbstverwaltetes Gebiet mit eigenem Parlament (Inatsisartut) und eigener Regierung (Naalakkersuisut).
Basierend auf der Definition eines Protektorats – eines autonomen Territoriums, das von einem stärkeren Staat diplomatisch oder militärisch vor Dritten geschützt wird, wobei der Staat häufig die Kontrolle über seine Außenpolitik abgibt – gibt es heute nur sehr wenige, wenn überhaupt, Staaten, die formell den Rechtsstatus eines „Protektorats“ innehaben. Die modernen internationalen Beziehungen umfassen jedoch mehrere Beziehungen, die einem Protektorat funktional ähneln (abhängige Staaten oder „Schutzstaaten“).
Beispiele hierfür sind:
Bhutan (mit Indien): Obwohl Bhutan souverän ist, wurden seine Außen- und Verteidigungspolitik historisch von Indien gelenkt, was eine moderne, einvernehmlich vereinbarte protektoratsähnliche Beziehung darstellt.
Monaco (mit Frankreich): Frankreich garantiert die Unabhängigkeit und Souveränität Monacos.
San Marino (mit Italien): Ähnlich wie Monaco unterhält dieser kleine Staat ein besonderes Vertragsverhältnis mit Italien und steht somit unter italienischem Schutz.
Niue und Cookinseln (mit Neuseeland): Diese Gebiete sind in freier Assoziierung mit Neuseeland selbstverwaltet. Neuseeland trägt die Verantwortung für ihre Verteidigung und Außenpolitik, agiert jedoch in internationalen Beziehungen unabhängig.
Palau, Marshallinseln und Mikronesien (mit den Vereinigten Staaten): Im Rahmen von Assoziierungsabkommen leisten die USA Verteidigungshilfe und in einigen Fällen auch Wirtschaftshilfe, während diese Staaten ihre inneren Angelegenheiten selbst regeln.