Paul Nicholls has been crowned champion jumps trainer in Britain on 14 occasions and has recorded 49 Cheltenham Festival winners as well as a Grand National at Aintree and an incredible 13 wins in the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day.
Paul Nicholls Stable Stars: 5 Greatest Ditcheat Inmates
Here we are taking a look at five of the greatest horses to leave their mark from his Ditcheat yard.
Paul Nicholls Stable Stars: Kauto Star
The only starting place, Kauto Star was the doyen of the Nicholls golden era, winning a host of Grade 1 prizes in a stunning career after arriving from France as a youngster. His wins included two Tingle Creeks over two-miles and four Betfair Chases over three-miles. He won the £1m Triple Crown Bonus in 2006/07 as he landed the Tingle Creek, the King George and Cheltenham Gold Cup.
He is the first and only horse to win a Cheltenham Gold Cup, lose one, and win it back, while his five Christmas wins in the King George at Kempton is a record. In 2007 he was the first horse to be officially top-rated at two miles, two and a half, and three miles. He was quite simply an incredible performer and the final season of his career, when he bounced back to win successive Grade 1 races, ensured his spot as one of the most popular performers of the 21st century.
Paul Nicholls Stable Stars: Denman
Located in the box next door to Kauto Star during his career was Denman, a rival of real substance and incredible popularity. Dubbed The Tank for the bruising manner in which he ran his races, Denman’s best day came in March 2008 when he relieved Kauto Star of the Gold Cup crown at Cheltenham after an incredible build-up to their first meeting that transcended racing.
Under Sam Thomas, Denman was relentless out in front for an entire circuit of Cheltenham as he pounded Kauto Star and Ruby Walsh into submission He also delivered immense weight-carrying performances to win two Hennessy’s at Newbury and would finish second in three more Gold Cups, all of it after suffering from a heart problem that nearly derailed his career.
Paul Nicholls Stable Stars: Big Buck’s
The third stalwart of that golden age at Ditcheat was Big Buck’s. He famously unseated Sam Thomas in the Hennessy at Newbury in 2008, prompting Nicholls to make a decision that he would go back over hurdles. It was a feted move, with Big Buck’s going on to dominate the stayers’ division like no horse before or since.
He won four World Hurdles at the Cheltenham Festival from 2009-2012 and went on an incredible sequence of 18 victories, which set a new record for a jumper until it was surpassed by Altior.
Paul Nicholls Stable Stars: Master Minded
As the recent passing of iconic racing scribe Alastair Down served to remind many; that great Ditcheat era had four standard bearers and Master Minded was part of that. His demolition of Voy Por Ustedes in the Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham in 2008 will live long in the memory. He won that Grade 1 two-miler again a year later and also bagged two Tingle Creeks, a Champion Chase at Punchestown and a Melling Chase at Aintree amongst his career wins.
Paul Nicholls Stable Stars: See More Business
See More Business was the horse that helped propel Nicholls towards the big time. He won the Cheltenham Gold Cup for his trainer in 1999, fending off rank outsider Go Ballistic as favourite Florida Pearl struggled in third. He would also secure a pair of King George wins on Boxing Day in 1997 and 1999 as well as an Aintree Bowl in 2000 and two wins in the Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby. He paved the way for the future stars at Nicholls’ base in Somerset.
By Tom McGarry
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