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Paul Nicholls
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Paul Nicholls, the son of a policeman, was born in Alveston, Bristol, on April 17, 1962, and has been training at Manor Farm Stables in Ditcheat, Somerset, since taking out a licence on November 1, 1991.
He started out as a jump jockey and twice rode the winner of the Hennessy
Cognac Gold Cup at Newbury (1986 on Broadheath and 1987 on Playschool).
He partnered 130 winners between 1980 and 1989, and nominates the best
horses he rode as Broadheath, Playschool and Seagram.
He was then assistant trainer to Devon-based David Barons, for whom he had ridden plenty of winners. The stable sent out Seagram to win the 1991 Grand National at Aintree while he was based there.
Having strongly challenged Martin Pipe for the jump trainers' championship
in recent years, most notably when pushing his great rival right to the
last day of the 2004/05 campaign, he claimed his first title last season
when saddling 148 winners and collecting over £2.4 million in prize
money.
Paul Nicholls pulled off the amazing feat of saddling seven winners
and three seconds from his 10 runners on Saturday, November 7, 1998,
and made history when he became the first trainer to saddle six winners
on the same card, at Wincanton, his local track, on Saturday, January
21, 2006.
Another highpoint in his training career came at the 1999 Cheltenham
Festival, as he captured the major chase on each of the three days -
Flagship Uberalles scored in the Irish Independent Arkle Chase on Tuesday,
Call Equiname won the Queen Mother Champion Chase the following day and,
best of all, See More Business took the totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup
on Thursday.
Nicholls has trained 16 Festival winners in total, and was the most
successful trainer at The Festival in 1999, 2004 and 2006, and was the
top handler again this year with Kauto Star's totesport
Cheltenham Gold Cup success being one of his four wins. His 148 winners last season
included three Festival successes - Noland in the Anglo Irish Bank Supreme
Novices' Hurdle, Star De Mohaison in the Royal & SunAlliance
Chase, and Desert Quest in the Vincent O'Brien County Handicap Hurdle.
He also captured two races at the 2006 John Smith's Grand National Meeting
at Aintree, when successful with Star De Mohaison in the £80,000
John Smith's Mildmay Novices' Chase and Natal in the £55,000 Citroën
C4 Mersey Novices' Hurdle.
His 1,000th British winner came when Noble Action won at Folkestone
on November 15, 2004.
Paul Nicholls has sent out 101 winners so far this season (up to and
including Friday, March 16), with stable star Kauto Star landing a brilliant
Grade One four-timer in the totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup, King George
VI Chase, Tingle Creek Chase and Betfair Chase as well as victories in
the Grade Two Old Roan Chase at Aintree and Newbury's Grade Two Aon Chase.
Further big-race winners this season include Silverburn (Anglo Irish Bank Tolworth Hurdle), Desert Quest (William Hill Handicap Hurdle at Ascot), Eurotrek (totesport.com Becher Chase), Gungadu (Reynoldstown Novices' Chase), Denman (Stan James Berkshire Novices' Chase), Taranis (totescoop6 Sandown Handicap Hurdle), My Will (Servo Computer Services Trophy), Ladalko (totesport.com Classic Chase), Cerium (Amlin 1965 Chase), Turko (totepool Rising Star Novices' Chase), New Little Bric (Scilly Isles Novices' Chase) and Neptune Collonges (wbx.com Rehearsal Chase).
PAUL NICHOLLS' 16 CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL SUCCESSES
Year Horse Age/Wgt Jockey Owner SP
totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup
1999 See More Business 9-12-00 Mick Fitzgerald Paul Barber & John
Keighley 16/1
2007 Kauto Star 7-11-10 Ruby Walsh Clive D Smith 5/4F
Queen Mother Champion Chase
1999 Call Equiname 9-12-00 Mick Fitzgerald Mick Coburn, Paul Barber,
Colin Lewis 7/2
2004 Azertyuiop 7-11-10 Ruby Walsh John Hales 15/8
Ryanair Chase
2005 Thisthatandtother 9-11-03 Ruby Walsh Graham Roach 9/2
2007 Taranis 6-11-00 Ruby Walsh Mrs A B Yeoman & C R Whittaker 9/2
Irish Independent Arkle Chase
1999 Flagship Uberalles 5-11-00 Joe Tizzard Elisabeth Gutner & Michael
Krysztofiak 11/1
2003 Azertyuiop 6-11-08 Ruby Walsh John Hales 5/4F
Royal & SunAlliance Chase
2006 Star De Mohaison 5-10-08 Barry Geraghty Sir Robert Ogden 14/1
2007 Denman 7-11-04 Ruby Walsh Harry Findlay & Paul Barber 6/5F
Vincent O'Brien County Handicap Hurdle
2004 Sporazene 5-10-13 Ruby Walsh Ged Mason & David Jackson 7/1J
2006 Desert Quest 4-10-10 ex4lb Ruby Walsh Margaret Findlay 4/1J
Cheltenham Grand Annual Chase Challenge Cup (Handicap Chase)
2004 St Pirran 9-10-01 Ruby Walsh Graham Roach 4/1F
Christie's Foxhunter Chase
2004 Earthmover 13-12-00 Miss Rilly Goschen Roger Penny 14/1
2005 Sleeping Night 9-12-00 Mr Colman Sweeney D J & F A Jackson 7/2F
Anglo Irish Bank Supreme Novices' Hurdle
2006 Noland 5-11-07 Ruby Walsh John Hales 6/1
KAUTO STAR (FR) 16/03/07
7 b g Village Star (FR) - Kauto Relka (FR) (Port Etienne (FR))
Form: 211-1F2353-112-21F-111111
Owner: Clive Smith Breeder: Mme H Aubert
Kauto Star, a Grade Three winner over hurdles at Auteuil in France,
has developed into a chaser of the highest class with six straight wins
in the 2006/2007 season, including a stunning Grade One four-trick, culminating
in today's impressive totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup victory.
He made his British debut at Newbury in December, 2004, in an extended
two and a quarter mile novice chase, and produced a fine performance,
gaining an emphatic nine-length victory over Grade One Irish Champion
Hurdle winner Foreman.
Things did not go to plan next time in a three-runner race at Exeter
in January, 2005, when he fell two out with the race at his mercy. After
being remounted, he just failed to reel in the winner, but it came to
light afterwards that the horse had injured his near-hind leg, and he
was forced to miss the rest of the season.
Kauto Star reappeared in November, 2005, when he turned in an excellent comeback effort to chase home Monkerhostin in the Grade Two William Hill Gold Cup Chase at Exeter.
He improved on that run when landing the Grade One Tingle Creek Trophy
Chase at Sandown over two miles the following month, staying on in fine
style to score by a length and a half from Ashley Brook.
The Grade One Queen Mother Champion Chase at The Festival in March was Kauto Star's next port of call but, after tracking the leaders in the early stages, he took off too early at the third fence and hit the deck.
He returned at Aintree on October 22 over two and a half miles in the Grade Two Old Roan Chase and was the most impressive winner, romping home by 21 lengths from his stable companion Armaturk when conceding 9lb to the runner-up.
Kauto Star then defeated the best three-mile chasers around when easily
taking the Betfair Chase at Haydock on November 18 by 17 lengths from
Beef Or Salmon before showing himself to be one of the most adaptable
top-class chasers of recent times when cruising to a seven-length victory
over Voy Por Ustedes in the Grade One Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown a
fortnight later.
Clive Smith's gelding evoked memories of Desert Orchid as he went directly
from that triumph to capture the Grade One King George VI Chase at Kempton
on Boxing Day. Ruby Walsh sat tight to survive a last fence blunder and
the pair finished eight lengths clear of the chasing Exotic Dancer.
Another final fence error made life more difficult again for the pair
in the Grade Two Aon Chase at Newbury on February 10, but Kauto Star
rallied to hold the determined challenge of L'Ami by a neck.
Kauto Star collects the Betfair Million bonus for being successful in the totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup today. The £1-million incentive is offered by the betting exchange for winning the Betfair Chase, the Stan James King George VI Chase and the totesport Gold Cup.
