About: Paul Nicholls Racing

Five winners over the weekend maintained the smart form of the team with pride of place going to Rubaud after his impressive victory in the £50,000 Listed two mile hurdle at Kempton on Sunday.

I did consider going chasing with him this season but he was so progressive over hurdles in the spring that I felt he deserved a crack at a decent prize over hurdles. He was in charge from start to finish at Kempton with the help of nicely judged ride from the front by Harry Cobden and kept on strongly on the flat to win by two and three quarter lengths.
I was thrilled with this very professional performance by a classy horse who is bound to improve for the run. He will be staying over hurdles this season with his next outing in the Grade 2 Elite Hurdle at Wincanton on November 11.
We ended a rewarding weekend’s work with the jaunty victory of my daughter Olive on Oscars Moonshine in the two mile, five furlong handicap hurdle at Kempton. They ended last season with a clear cut triumph at Wincanton and looked just as good on Sunday as they stretched clear of Shallow River in the closing stages.
Oscars Moonshine has had his share of problems but I’ve had a clear run with him this autumn and knew he was right yesterday. He could return to Kempton for another handicap in three weeks time. Olive has had quite a bit of experience now, is improving all the time and is very good value for her 7lbs claim.
The previous day Team Ditcheat completed a treble at Newton Abbot in just over an hour with Complete Unknown, Farnoge and Take Your Time.
Complete Unknown enjoyed an ideal prep for the Coral Gold Cup in the Class 2 Intermediate Chase on testing ground that plays to his strengths. He made just about all the running, jumping well, before holding off the chasing debutante Might I who was in receipt of 10lbs.
Farnoge then made a pleasing debut from the front over hurdles in a qualifier for the EBF Final at Sandown in March which could well be his long term target.
He is a highly promising individual who was runner up in his only Point-to-Point in Ireland before a tidy success on his debut for us in a competitive bumper at Uttoxeter in March. He should have a bright future and could run next at Newbury at the start of December.
Harry Cobden completed his own treble for the yard on Take Your Time on his first start over fences in a Class 4 Novice Handicap Chase over three and a quarter miles.
This horse had questions to answer after a below par campaign last winter when he was unplaced on all three starts. He stays all day and seemed to enjoy the switch to fences as he jumped soundly on his way to a narrow defeat of Investment Manager.
The disappointment of the day was Iceo who seemed to run a bit flat in the Novice Limited Handicap Chase in finishing last of the three runners. He was giving plenty of weight to his two rivals and time could show that he was facing a tough task against the winner JPR One.
Iceo might also be best fresh so we will give him a little break before aiming him at the Henry V111 Chase at Sandown.
We are looking forward to a busy time at the weekend with runners at Cheltenham’s two day meeting on Friday and Saturday and we will also be well represented on Sunday at Wincanton and Aintree where Hitman again starts his season in the Old Roan Chase.
The card at Wincanton is in aid of the Bob Champion Cancer Trust and I’m pleased to report that Chloe Humphries will make her debut as a jockey for us on Rare Middleton in the charity flat race that opens the card. If you’d like to support her please CLICK HERE to donate.
Chloe has been a popular and talented member of Team Ditcheat for a number of years and partners Greaneteen each morning on the gallops. She has already raised £2,500 for the RCCT on her JustGiving page.
For all the latest news on all our weekend runners please be sure to turn to my Betfair column which goes live mid afternoon on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

The stylish success of Captain Teague in the Grade 2 Persian War Novice Hurdle at Chepstow was the highlight of a weekend when heavy rain on Friday disrupted our running plans the next afternoon.

Captain Teague had the best of the ground as he made a highly pleasing debut over hurdles against some classy rivals. He jumped well, cruised to the front before the second last and readily drew clear on his way to a highly pleasing victory by nine and a half lengths.
That was his first gallop on grass this autumn and he will have learned plenty because he was still a bit green. He is a gorgeous horse and we can plan his season now much like Hermes Allen last season by possibly taking him to Cheltenham next before the Challow Hurdle at Newbury.
On the same afternoon Florencethemachine ran with plenty of promise in finishing second in the mares’ novice hurdle in a time almost 43 seconds slower than standard which gives a fair indication of the state of the ground after all the rain.
Panjari, twice a Listed winner in the Flat, was a disappointment on his debut for us in the novice hurdle. He got really wound up before the start and totally lost his head but he wasn’t disgraced in finishing fifth and I’d imagine he wants better ground. I’ve put a line through that display and he could be out again in a couple of weeks.
Ioupy Collonges was another to perform below expectations on Friday. He was eventually pulled up by Harry Cobden and was later diagnosed as having atrial fibrillation which was a big surprise as he has been training nicely, has never had any issues before and ran all these good races last season. He will have some time off now while we get to the root of the problem.
The going was so soft at Chepstow on Saturday that it made sense to pull six of ours out which was frustrating but were all good ground horses who can go somewhere else. The conditions caught everyone out.
I knew the conditions were also against Knappers Hill but I wanted to give him a first run over fences before the Rising Stars Chase at Wincanton and in finishing a respectable second to the much more experienced Unexpected Party he enjoyed a lovely clear round of jumping. It was a nice introduction to fences and hopefully he can build on that and have a decent career as a chaser.
Sonigino was another to run well well in finishing third under 11st 13lbs in the competitive Silver Trophy. He travelled like the best horse for much of the race and looked like winning as he eased to the front after the second last before tiring late on. He will be going chasing sooner rather than later.
We ended Saturday with the tidy success of Kap Boy in the bumper in the colours of Diana Whateley. He kept on strongly to beat King of Tara after a sustained duel with the pair well clear. Kap Boy has been with us for the best part of two years but he is still a bit of a big baby and showed character to see off a more experienced rival. He will probably go to Ascot next, a route we have enjoyed with Knappers Hill and McFabulous.
The great thing is that we have a lovely bunch of fifteen or sixteen more bumper horses like him.
Looking ahead we will have runners at Newton Abbot on Saturday and Kempton on Sunday but with plenty of rain forecast through the week I will be keeping an eye on the weather.
For all the latest news on my weekend runners please be sure to turn to my Betfair column which goes live the previous afternooon.

Jump racing lost one of its greatest supporters with the death of my friend and landlord Paul Barber on Sunday morning at the age of 80.

Everyone involved with Team Ditcheat is feeling his loss deeply because day by day he took such an interest in everything that happened in the yard, on the gallops and on the racecourse.
He loved racing with a fierce passion, enjoyed plenty of success at the highest level and is warmly remembered as a man who helped give so many youngsters a decent start in life.
Paul had a massive influence on my career from the day he chose me from a dozen applicants to train at his stables below his farmhouse in Ditcheat. From the moment Paul gave me the keys to his yard and gallops in October 1991 he backed me to the hilt. What began as a business arrangement swiftly developed into a friendship that grew stronger with the years.
He immediately promised to buy me two horses at the next Doncaster sales and generously added that he would delay my first payment of rent for six months to help me .
See More Indians, a big, scopey sort, was the first horse I bought at public auction. As we both liked him Paul said get on and buy him.
It turned out that we struck lucky with See More Indians who was my first really good horse, quickly developed into a classy chaser, and ran up a sequence of wins including the Grade 1 Feltham Chase my first Grade 1 winner and the Jim Ford Chase at Wincanton.
We felt he was heading to the top and it was a tragedy that we lost him that summer in a freak accident while turned out in the cider orchard beside Paul’s home.
It took us a while to get over that day as I think deep down we both felt our chance of winning a Gold Cup had gone forever.
Paul had this long held dream that he would like to milk 1,000 cows and own a Cheltenham Gold Cup winner. I’m so proud that in time I was able to train him two Gold Cup winners, See More Business and Denman and by then, of course, he was milking more than 2,000 cows.
Over the last few years he was milking 3,000 cows and we were trying so hard to come up with a third Gold Cup winner. We hoped Clan Des Obeaux might be the one but he wasn’t suited by Cheltenham and while we had high hopes of the RSA winner Topofthegame he was so hard to keep sound.
Paul Barber was wise beyond his years in the ways and rhythms of the countryside and fearless in his business dealings as he developed and grew the family’s dairy business in Ditcheat.
From the start he took me under his wing and in some ways treated me like one of his sons. I certainly saw him as something of a father figure. He taught me so much about running a business, especially in the early years.
Having him around when I needed advice was a big plus. His benchmark was always pay and be paid. That was just about the best tip Paul ever gave me. He always maintained any decision was better than no decision and warned me about the pitfalls of owning too many horses myself. ” Dont have your hotel full of your own family ” was another!
Another of his favourite sayings was ‘Delegate my boy. Delegate’.
Looking back now I realise how lucky I was to have such an astute businessman at my side to pass on sound advice from the moment I started training.
I’ve been lucky really that I’ve had two dads. Brian, my father, and Paul who have both played equally important roles in my life.
Owning racehorses gave Paul a release from running such a successful business. He loved his horses who were stabled less than a hundred yards from his house and most evenings he would wander down to the yard to see them.
I know he got enormous pleasure from that daily routine and often he would join Clifford Baker and myself as we walked round evening stables.
We enjoyed so many great days together and even when his health was failing over the last six months he insisted on going racing to watch some of his best prospects. I’m so pleased that he was at Sandown on the final day of the season late in April to cheer his multiple winner Knappers Hill to victory the last day he went racing .
Every big day he shared with me, every big winner he shared with me as if it was his own. He deserved all the success he had because he was such a tremendous enthusiast and put so much into racing and life .
My life will not be the same without Paul Barber. I owe him more than I can ever say. Thank you Paul for giving me the chance . RIP

The funeral for Mr Paul Barber will be held at St Mary’s Church, Ditcheat, Somerset on Wednesday 5^th July 2023 at 2pm.