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About: Paul Nicholls Racing

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Monday 25th December

Tidy victories by Brave Kingdom and Welcom to Cartries took our score for the season to 62 before a rare blank Saturday at Ascot.

I’m thrilled that Brave Kingdom is making up for lost time this season. He is not the easiest to train but has plenty of talent and buckled down in determined style at Newbury on Wednesday. He has won four of his five starts for us, stays well and is progressing nicely.
Welcom To Cartries appreciated the step up in trip at Ascot on Friday as he stayed on strongly to land his maiden hurdle over two miles, five and a half furlongs. He is a beautiful horse and an exciting prospect. A lot of these good ones don’t tend to do things quickly. He gallops all day and a race like the River Don at Doncaster late in January might suit him. Chasing will be the making of him next year.
It was disappointing that Solo finished second in the Howden Graduation Chase at Ascot on Saturday though in his defence he would have preferred much easier conditions underfoot.
I was delighted with the run of Blueking d’Oroux in the Long Walk Hurdle. He was bang there going to the final flight before being outstayed by hardy, older and much more experienced campaigners. It was an amazing performance by a four year old and I’d like to think that in another twelve months he will be in the mix with the best staying hurdlers.
We will be flat out over Christmas week and my thanks to everyone involved with Team Ditcheat for keeping the show on the road over the festive period.
Bravemansgame is the headline act in the King George V1 Chase on Boxing Day at Kempton where the drying ground will suit all our runners. I couldn’t be happier with him as he bids to repeat his victory in the race last year. His recent homework has been out of the top drawer. He is joined by Frodon, the winner in 2020, and third last year. He is still full of enthusiasm and should be in the money again.
Earlier I’m looking for a big run from Hermes Allen in the Kauto Star Novice Chase while I’m under no illusions that Rubaud faces a massive task against Constitution Hill in the Grade 1 Christmas Hurdle.
We also have runners at Aintree and Wincanton on Boxing Day and will be equally busy on Wednesday. Complete Unknown and Truckers Lodge are interesting contenders in the Coral Welsh National at Chepstow and will be well suited by the forecast of heavy rain. We will also send runners to Kempton and Wetherby on Wednesday.
Then at the end of the week Farnoge and Captain Teague are intended starters in the Challow Hurdle at Newbury.
For all the latest news on my runners on Boxing Day, Wednesday and Saturday please be sure to turn to my Betfair columns which go live the previous day.

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Monday 18th December

We ended another week of solid achievement with narrow defeats in tight finishes to the two big chases at Cheltenham on Saturday.

It was frustrating to see Il Ridoto chinned by Fugitif in the last stride after a brilliant run from the front in the December Gold Cup.
Just over half an hour later Threeunderthrufive ran up to his best when beaten just over a length in a valuable Premier Handicap Chase.
Bryony Frost got a great tune out of Il Ridoto who idled a bit in front before rallying strongly when challenged by the winner. While he shapes as if he will stay three miles I’m thinking of sending him back to Cheltenham at the end of next month for the £100,000 Paddy Power Podcast Handicap Chase over two miles, four and a half furlongs or possibly the Fleur De Lys chase at Lingfield Jan 21.
Monmiral was a bit disappointing behind Il Ridoto and was flat out the whole way before keeping on at the one pace. It looks as though he needs three miles these days.
Threeundertheufive was the only one to give Broadway Boy a race in the three and a quarter mile chase. He travelled well, is a strong stayer and his owner Max McNeill is keen for him to have an entry in the Grand National.
With doubles on Tuesday and Wednesday before a treble on Friday we moved on to sixty winners for the season at a strike rate of 25%.
It was good to see some of our nice young prospects living up to their homework by registering their first successes through the week, among them Toss of a Coin and Quebecois who now goes for the Cheltenham Bumper .
On Friday I was thrilled with the victory of Ginny’s Destiny in the Class 2 Novice Chase over two and a half miles at Cheltenham. New to us this season he is progressing swiftly, jumps like a natural, made just about all the running and should have no problem staying three miles. Harry Cobden’s ride from the front on Ginny’s Destiny was top drawer.
On the same day Rare Middleton bounced back to form on the better ground he appreciates at Doncaster where Twinjets made a winning start for us later in the afternoon.
One horse who is unlikely to run again this season is Knappers Hill who has made such a sparkling start to his career over fences. Unfortunately he has had a little setback. It is only minor but as I regard him him as a possible King George V1 Chase horse next year I feel we need to stop with him now and concentrate on getting him right.
This week we will have runners at Wincanton and Newbury in the coming days before sending a strong team to Ascot on Friday and Saturday.
On Friday Welcome To Cartries is a likely starter in the maiden hurdle and Captain Bellamy and Marvellous Mick could well take part in the Listed bumper.
A day later Blueking d’Oroux and Red Risk could both go for the Long Walk Hurdle and Flash Collonges and Switch Hitter are possible starters in the £100,000 handicap Chase while Solo is under consideration for the Graduation Chase.
For all latest news on all my Saturday runners please do check out my Betfair column which goes live on Friday morning.

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Monday 11th December

The fatal injury to Iceo at Sandown on Saturday took all the gloss from another successful day for Team Ditcheat.

Losing any horse is the hardest part of our sport and Iceo was a star for his enthusiastic owner Chris Giles and shone when winning the Imperial Cup at Sandown in March. We felt he had a big future as a chaser and it was so tough to lose him after he suffered a catastrophic fracture of his front leg in the Henry VIII Chase. It affected everyone involved with Team Ditcheat and put a dampener on the rest of the day.
Talk about the highs and lows of racing. Twenty four hours earlier Chris Giles was on top of the world after his star novice Stay Away Fay won the Grade 2 Betfair Esher Novice Chase from the front in great style. You are a sitting duck when you have to do the donkey work like that but he stayed on strongly when challenged by Giovinco and was in command at the line. The better the race, the stronger the gallop, the more it will suit Stay Away Fay whose jumping was again very good. Two interesting Grade 2 options for him are a £75,000 Novice Chase over three miles at Warwick on January 13 and the Reynoldstown Chase at Ascot a month later.
Stay Away Fay’s victory took us past the the £1 million mark for prize money this season with a helpful contribution a little earlier in the afternoon from Insurrection who ran so well when a close second in the Grade 2 novice hurdle over two and a half miles. He was a shade keen and was just outstayed late on.
A four timer on Saturday took our score to 53 winners. First to strike was Liari who again looked very smart with a decisive success in the Class 1 juvenile hurdle at Aintree. He is a gorgeous horse, travelled strongly, jumped like a natural and eased clear in the closing stages. Liari will be even better on drier ground and has a bright future. He will get an entry in the Triumph Hurdle but we have the option instead of taking back to Aintree in April.
Sonigino then completed our double at Aintree with a comfortable success in the two and a half mile Class 2 handicap hurdle. He relished the step back up in trip, cruised through the race and is clearly thriving. The target I have in mind for him next is the Lanzarote Hurdle at Kempton in January.
At Chepstow Isaac Des Obeaux doubled his score for the season by bolting up under a penalty. He is a three parts brother to Clan Des Obeaux, made all the running and looks every inch an exciting candidate for chasing next season.
The hardy veteran Truckers Lodge then brought up our four timer with a determined performance in the London National at Sandown. The ground can’t be testing enough for Truckers Lodge, an amazing old horse who will soon be twelve, has been in so many battles and has formed a rewarding partnership with his jockey Freddie Gingell who is only a few years older than him. It’s unlikely Truckers Lodge will be returning to Chepstow for another crack at the Coral Welsh National which might come a bit too soon and be too competitive for him. We will look for a suitable target in a few weeks time.
We will have plenty of runners through the week with the good news that Wincanton and Exeter have rescheduled meetings lost to the wet weather. Then we will be concentrating on Cheltenham at the weekend when Monmiral and Il Ridoto are likely to run in the December Gold Cup on Saturday.
For all the latest news on my runners in Friday and Saturday please turn to my Betfair column which goes live the previous day.

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