Champion trainer Nicholls: Young team leaves me already excited for October

At the end of his most numerically successful season ever, Mon Frere's success at Taunton on Wednesday having been his 173rd of the campaign, Paul Nicholls will be crowned champion trainer for the twelfth time at Sandown Park on Saturday.

Despite the well-publicised lack of a Cheltenham Festival winner amidst a sea of Irish success, Nicholls is understandably upbeat about his achievements at the end of an abridged season that only began in July due to the national lockdown and the shutdown of the sport last year.

"It's been a fantastic season considering it has only been 10 months instead of 12," he reflected. "Okay, so we didn't get a winner at Cheltenham but we've had some good winners throughout the season, including some Grade Ones and set a new best for number of winners.

"Frodon winning the King George when he was the underdog was pleasing, fantastic for the team and fantastic for the horse. The King George is a race I always like winning ant that was very special.

"I've got to mention Harry Cobden too. At one time he was right in the mix to be champion jockey and I'm sure he will be one day, but he rode over 100 winners for the yard this season and that's some achievement. He's a lot younger than the two other lads, but he's improving all the time and that's another highlight for me - his progress and what he's done this year.

"It was just a bit unfortunate for him that Colin Tizzard was a bit quiet this year, as in a normal season Harry might have had 20 oe 30 more winners and then you may have had a different result, but he'll still be riding all of ours next season and if we have another good one you'd like to think he'd be right in the mix."

Nicholls highlighted Monmiral, Bravemansgame, Hitman and Threeunderthrufive as being among the horses he has highest hopes for next season.

"We're the strongest we have been for a long time and we're building up a nice team - I can't wait for October to come around again. It's like a football team, you're always looking to build and I think at the moment we have got some really smart young players coming through, as it were. We're in a good place.

"We've got a lot of nice bumper horses that have won this year. Flementime, Mr Glass, I think we've got 13, 14, 15 bumper horses that could hopefully turn out to be another Bravemansgame next season. We've bought some nice three-year-olds from France already to get going with next year, including a nice horse called Magistrato who was second at Auteuil recently. He'd be a lovely horse to go juvenile hurdling with."

Although the final totals will only be known after racing at Sandown on Saturday, Nicholls is likely to take the trainers' title from Dan Skelton, with Henry de Bromhead third thanks to his incredible exploits at Cheltenham and Aintree despite having had only a handful of runners in Britain across the campaign.

Nicky Henderson admitted on Thursday that it had been "a tough year" for his team, while vowing to fight back next season, but it is Skelton who Nicholls thinks could be the one likeliest to prevent him from bagging a 13th championship title in 12 months' time.

"I honestly think over the next few years Dan is going to be my biggest threat," he said. "He's only £500,000 behind this season and that's not an awfully big gap to close, although we're not going to lie down and let him go by.

"Nicky is obviously very competitive and a good trainer with a good team and there are one or two others close behind, but Dan's the main threat at the moment. It will be interesting. The day he is champion trainer, and I think undoubtedly he will be, I will be very proud of him, just like I am of Harry Skelton and his achievements this season.

"Harry is spot-on, it's all about winning. That's always been my philosophy too. You do it because you want to win. You work hard because you want to win the races your competing in.

"He joined me with Dan when he left school and I'm very proud of him and we should celebrate that on Saturday. He did really well as a young lad, he was a claimer and he did very, very well. Like a lot of them, once he'd lost his claim it was a lot tougher because he wasn't getting outside opportunities.

"Because Ruby [Walsh] was stable jockey, I wasn't able to shift him up. It's impossible. He went through a quiet patch and I kept saying to him - though he never listened to me - to just have some patience. As you get older, you get stronger and you get better and one day if you are in the right place, the right job will come along and you will do very well. Of course, that job did come along when Dan started training and all of that experience he got in the younger days is paying off. I'm very proud of him and very proud of Dan for helping him to get there."

As for Sandown on Saturday, Nicholls is out to bag some more silverware and saddles a total of 10 runners at the meeting that brings the campaign to a close.

"We'll be hoping to go out with a bang and we've got some lovely horses to run there," he said. "Frodon will obviously be running and he's had a nice rest and seems in good form.

"The big race is probably the Celebration Chase and Bryony will be on Greaneteen, who seems to be in really good shape. He surprised a few in the Champion Chase, but we’ve always held him in high regard.

“But we've got Dolos in there too, who loves Sandown and I see he's 25-1, so who knows? It's a good-looking race."

A trip to Paul Nicholls’ stables in Ditcheat sealed Sir Alex Ferguson’s decision to become involved with the man who will be crowned champion trainer for the twelfth time this week.

The renowned former football manager, whose success with Manchester United make him a legendary figure in the sport for decades still to come, had watched Rock Of Gibraltar triumph in his colours on the Flat at the highest level, but was ready for a different kind of ownership experience.

Through his son, Jason, he was introduced to Ged Mason, who suggested that a trip to meet Nicholls might help him better understand what the trainer could offer. Together, he and Mason bought the chaser What A Friend, who went on to win two Grade 1s and chased home Denman in the 2009 Hennessy, one of the most memorable jumps races of its generation.

Now firmly in retirement from football management, Ferguson’s jumps racing interests have expanded and at Aintree earlier this month horses he part-owned with friends bagged all three Grade 1s on the opening day of the meeting.

Celebrations were a little more muted than they mighthave been, and it was only through a Perspex screen that the owners were able to talk to Nicholls on the winner’s podium, but there was still a sense of business as usual in at least one respect.

“It wasn’t long before he was trying to sell us another horse, but that’s Paul – he never stops,” says Ferguson. “A couple of things always impress me about him.

“One is that I am always amazed by his hunger. People often say we are alike and I think there is some truth in that. If you’re like Paul, you’re never really satisfied and no matter what you achieve, you’re always looking forward to the next challenge.

“To achieve the results he has done this season without any absolute superstars is a testament to him and the team. He’s got no Kauto Star, no Denman, but he’s really built something special at Ditcheat and anyone who has been there will know what I mean.

“The other thing that I think some don’t understand is the sacrifice. Every morning, you’re with the horses. Every afternoon, you’re at the races. Every day, you’re planning and plotting the right races or talking to owners or your team. There’s just no rest.”

This is an ingredient that Ferguson understands better than most.

“I sacrificed my life – there’s no other way of looking at it,” he says. “For 39 years, I was a manager. I think about my time at St Mirren, Aberdeen, going to matches, watching the opposition, the training sessions. I will always be grateful to my wife for bringing up our three children when I couldn’t be around. That intensity can wear you down, but Paul’s a lot younger than me and I don’t think he’s going anywhere.”

Owner: Paul Vogt.

Season Form: 1415.

Widely regarded as one of the most popular partnerships in the sport of jump racing, it was fitting that Frodon and Bryony Frost should top the bill in the Ladbrokes King George VI Chase at Kempton Park on Boxing Day. Despite jumping out to the left, Frodon made all, keeping enough in reserve to hold off the late challenge from Waiting Patiently.

Ultimately found wanting for stamina in the WellChild Cheltenham Gold Cup when fifth, Frodon nevertheless showed all of his enthusiasm and jumping prowess; he will sign off his term at Sandown on the final day of the season.

Owners: Mr & Mrs Paul Barber, Ged Mason & Sir Alex Ferguson.

Season Form: 2321.

Total Earnings: £150,448.

Clan Des Obeaux posted a pleasing effort when second on his seasonal reappearance in the Betfair Chase at Haydock.

However, he was more laboured when seeking a hat-trick of wins in the King George VI Chase at Kempton Park on Boxing Day. After being narrowly denied by front-running stablemate Secret Investor in the Denman Chase at Newbury in February, and granted the addition of first-time cheekpieces, Clan Des Obeaux stamped his authority over eight rivals to win the valuable Grade 1 Betway Bowl at Aintree, showing his class from start to finish when winning by an ever-widening 26 lengths.

Owner: John Hales.

Season Form: 124.

Total Earnings: £100,527.

In some respects a case of what might have been this season for Politologue, but we must hope that he will be back again for another campaign and can show his true colours then.

The select few who enjoyed the privilege to be present at Sandown Park for the Grade 1 Betfair Tingle Creek Chase will fondly recall a near foot perfect display of jumping from this dashing front-running grey, who never gave his rivals a chance to settle into their stride.

Owners: Sir Alex Ferguson, Ged Mason, John Hales and Lisa Hales.

Season Form: 1111.

Total Earnings: £84,186.

Monmiral arrived at Ditcheat after winning a conditions hurdle in France. Deeply impressive on his British debut at Exeter, he took the step up in grade in his stride when readily justifying favouritism in the Summit Juvenile Hurdle at Doncaster in December.

Next a winner at Haydock, then the decision was made to bypass the Triumph Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in favour of the Grade 1 Anniversary Hurdle at Aintree - that patience was duly rewarded with his highest-profile success to date. He heads into the summer unbeaten and a possible Champion Hurdle candidate for next year.

Owner: A G (Tony) Fear. Season

Form: 2117126.

Total Earnings: £84,186.

Jumping has always proved the achilles heel for the talented but headstrong Master Tommytucker. Nevertheless, in 2020-21 he has enjoyed a productive and busy season netting over £80,000 towards the Paul Nicholls prize fund.

Well clear and with the race at his mercy, he reached for the final fence, giving rider Harry Cobden a major scare when winning the Silviniaco Conti Chase at Kempton Park in January. Arguably an even finer effort followed when runner-up to Dashel Drasher in the Grade 1 Betfair Chase at Ascot.