Paul Nicholls nearing 12th championship Title Andrew Nelis

Paul Nicholls stands on the verge of being crowned champion trainer for the 12th time, following his profitable Aintree.

A Grade One double on the first day of the Grand National meeting – with Monmiral and Clan Des Obeaux – and then a Grade Two bumper win for Knappers Hill in the hands of Nicholls’ daughter Megan added up to a highly successful trip north for the yard.

It was not seamless, though, because jockeys Harry Cobden and Bryony Frost were both injured in falls on Saturday.

“Heading to Aintree with fresh horses made a big difference,” said Nicholls.

“The first day of Aintree was absolutely superb, and I was thrilled for Ged Mason and Sir Alex Ferguson (owners who also won with Dan Skelton’s Protektorat) on landing a Grade One treble.

“Obviously, Megan winning on Saturday after both my jockeys got hurt, eased the day.”

Nicholls is more than £500,000 in front of nearest challenger Skelton, so a 12th British jumps trainers’ title appears almost his.

“After Aintree, you’d have to say it would be difficult to get beat for the title,” he told Great British Racing.

“I’m currently £500,000 plus in front of Dan, and recouping those winnings doesn’t happen in two weeks. We’re just carrying on as normal and having plenty of runners – it’s all but in the bag really.

“It will be nice to regain the title. I was a bit frustrated last season, which ended prematurely because of Covid. Nicky (Henderson) was obviously in front after the Cheltenham Festival, but we had a big team lined up to run at Aintree and then on to Ayr and Sandown.

“We never had the chance to challenge him. So to get the title back this year, what with all the issues, will be fantastic.”

Despite the Irish dominating the Cheltenham Festival and the Grand National, Nicholls is pleased with the performance of his own yard.

“Numerically, our record last season was 171 winners, and we’re only nine off beating that statistic, so that’s another milestone that I’m aiming for,” he said.

“If we can crack 172 winners and secure my 12th champion trainer title it would be awesome – and it reflects so well on the whole team.

“There’s all this talk about the Irish this and the Irish that, but we’ve not exactly had a bad season and will hopefully land 172 winners with over £2.5 million in prizemoney.

“My biggest battle over the next few years will be Dan Skelton, without a doubt. Then, the two Harrys (Skelton and Cobden) will challenge one another – that will be interesting!

“I keep Dan on his toes and I’m proud of the fact that he was with me for nine years and is achieving so much.”

Andrew Nelis racing

Fury to contest the St Ledger Doncaster Andrew Nelis

Trainer Richard Spencer has identified the St Leger at Doncaster as the primary objective for his exciting colt Tyson Fury. The Newmarket handler confirmed in February of last year that the two-time heavyweight world champion had given his blessing for the Iffraaj colt to be named in his honour, with part-owner Phil Cunningham friendly with a member of Fury's team. While it has taken a while for the equine Tyson Fury to hit the racecourse, he produced a knockout display on his Doncaster debut earlier in the month, leaving connections dreaming of a tilt at Classic glory later in the year... Andrew Nelis Racing

Enable looks to eclipse as next port of call Sandown Andrew Nelis

The Coral -Eclipse at Sandown remains the most likely comeback target for superstar mare Enable . The daughter of Nathaniel was just denied in her bid for an historic third consecutive victory in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at the end of last season, filling the runner-up spot behind Waldgeist to end her sequence of 12 straight victories. Less than a fortnight later, Enable’s owner-breeder Khalid Abdullah delighted racing fans by confirming his charge would stay in training as a six-year-old – with a return to Paris in the autumn top of the agenda. Connections decided against an appearance at Royal Ascot, but the owner’s racing manager Teddy Grimthorpe reports the John Gosden -trained mare to be firmly on course for the Eclipse on July 5 following a pleasing workout under Frankie Dettori last week. “It’s been a gradual build-up – she’s a six-year-old mare, so I don’t think John wants to do anything too quickly,” Grimthorpe told Sky Sports Racing. “She’s ...

Epsom Derby Runners and riders 2020 Andrew Nelis

1 AMHRAN NA BHFIANN Sire : Galileo. Trainer : Aidan O’Brien. Official rating : --. Odds : 50-1 Who will add their name to the Derby roll of honour? Positives : His sister, Was, won the Oaks on her third start in 2012, while his brother, Douglas Macarthur, finished seventh in the 2017 Derby after being deployed as a pacemaker. He himself offered something to work on when fourth in a Leopardstown maiden last time, when finishing behind three stablemates who subsequently all made their presence felt in the Irish Derby. His best days are ahead of him. Negatives : Has mountain to climb on form and even his master trainer has not pulled off the trick of winning the Derby with a twice-raced maiden. Indeed, the last maiden to win the race was in 1887. Verdict : Folly to underestimate anything his trainer runs but easy enough to looks elsewhere. 2 EMISSARY Sire : Kingman. Trainer : Hugo Palmer. Official rating : 98. Odds : 33-1 ...

Andrew Nelis racing

Search This Blog