Paul Nicholls 2025/26

His overriding aim and life goal is to out do Martin Pipe.

He'll train winners for as long as it takes to achieve that.

Good morning loper hope everything is well with you

Good morning Jimnast. Had better years but still here. Hopefully I'll see you sometime oncourse, once I get a new hip!

Hope you and the missus are well?

We’re both fine just getting older as I’ve rejoined Cheltenham we should bump into one another soon good luck.

And he has just lost Caldwell Potter for the season. Season looks even more of a struggle now, and very unlikely to be dining at the top table with any regularity, but no doubt as ever wanting to prove people wrong. Will be hoping to convert at the lower level and build back up.

Found these but it's not exactly many

Outmaster: An expensive purchase for the Old Gold Racing syndicate, this four-year-old is expected to start in a bumper before going novice hurdling.
Act of Innocence: Bought privately for Gordon and Su Hall, this promising bumper horse finished third at the Goffs Defender Bumper at Punchestown and is an interesting addition to the team.
Belliano: A £255,000 purchase, this five-year-old won his only point-to-point race. He is now set to go hurdling, though he is regarded as a chaser for the future.
Joyau Allen: A full brother to the multiple Grade 1 winner Envoi Allen, this six-year-old was named by Nicholls as a top prospect to follow this season.
No Drama This End: This grey gelding, a £160,000 purchase, was a top-rated UK pointer last season and has since won his bumper at Warwick. He will be aimed at novice hurdles.
Sauvignon: A French recruit and half-brother to Group 1 winner Sauterne, this Flat-bred horse has already won over hurdles in France. The Grade 2 Finale Juvenile Hurdle is a potential target.
Talk To The Man: Another point-to-point winner acquired from the same source as Bravemansgame. The four-year-old is expected to run in bumpers this season.

Is that what you had DD

Caldwell Potter out for season pumpkin a million to win trainers championship

ih,

As I said I couldn't get excited about any of his 'new one's'. He also lost some horses who had shown a bit, to the likes of Murphy and Skelton. I think some of your comments are from the previous year. Act Of Innocence has been moved to Henderson. Outmaster is one new one, an English point winner that traces back to Denman.   

He has a couple of interesting bumper types for John Romans, but that's just me picking out a couple of pedigrees. You will know the name of one when it appears, it's not very inspired, and the younger one is from the very successful Jezki family. It's not much to hang your hat on.

in hell

That’s last seasons preview!

Sorry about that, that was the only thing I could find and all the ones I found were about his current h'cappers and older horses.

Could be a long season for PN, he will be hoping Regents Stroll has a good season.

dd, I also have his yearbook which gives a note on every horse in the yard when the book was published.
Kalif du Berlais will be the flagbearer if he stays sound. I agree that there don't seem to be many Grade 1 horses there.

Probably go the same way as Nicky Richards tbh…

I think he's one championship between Pipe, so you'd imagine he'd want to win at least another one, but he doesn't quite appear to have the hunger as in days of yore.

That said, he's bounced back strongly before so would be foolish to write him off.

From his interview on rtv, he knows he can't beat Skelton.

Jockeys are often overlooked when discussing trainers. Horses are most important but you need a good pilot. Look what happened when Ruby left (with due apologies to Daryl and Sam).

Currently, Harry Cobden is probably the best in Britain, and now that he has ridden out his claim, Freddie Gingell looks like he can fill the supporting slot that has been a bit of a problem since Harry was promoted and Bryony departed (sorry, Lorcan etc).

For that reason, I'd be reasonably optimistic for Nicholls although, of course, he still needs the horses.

Whether the trainers championship is the best measure, that's best left for another day.

Owners are the most critical element. PN's appear to be departing through the passage of time, or looking for better opportunities (as they see it). Meaning he is down on numbers and purchasing power. I guess it's just evolution but it's not easy to see how PN would be able to get a raft of new powerful owners.

cant see why anyone would have any qualms about handing over thick end of a million  to MEG to source you a horse from the ones no one in ire/hendo want

If you count Barber then then all of the owners of his 'big four' have now passed away.

And his GN winner.

think the days/model of he,ll make a better chaser ,one for the future doesn't stand up anymore ,against 100+ novices/PTP/bumper horses every season in ire from the top yds ,and he,s now only getting 3rd,4th,5th picks of the French breds,  95% of pumpkins young guns hurdlers ones for the future are now midweek handicappers at Taunton etc going forward

when I was reading his stable tours and seen headlines stable star,plans ahead etc wasn't expecting to see the likes of Bleu king, pitlocry etc in the following write ups

he,s had a couple of 10 to 1 shots in handicap s at stratt etc this week ,getting lapped that were winning midweek maidens at Taunton in last 18 months he was calling,graded chasers /hurdlers going forward, not his fault but Nichols has gone from saving.picking horses for chelt,aintree,punches town  and sandown festivals to this yr he might save them for perth

1sr time poster -- "not his fault but Nichols has gone from saving.picking horses for chelt,aintree,punches town  and sandown festivals to this yr he might save them for perth"

Good point, but actually that is Nicholls' fault and partly explains his decline.

Nicholls chasing Pipe's record of trainers championships (iirc he is just one behind) means ducking the championship races that are the truest test. Nicholls has become obsessed by (or at least, is giving priority to) the wrong target. Will our hypothetical new owner with deep pockets want to be at Cheltenham with a chance, or Perth with a near certainty? I'd suggest the former because most big owners are in the game for prestige, not punting.

(As an aside, JP went the other way, from winning as many rubbish races as possible, to targeting the top races.)

As usual having a real go at Wincanton. That's probably his Cheltenham with this sort of ammunition.

Running ok horses on quick ground

Running ok horses on quick ground

The novice hurdles at chepstow and Newbury disappointed for various reasons buy Sedgefield and Ludlow were OK.

pumpkin is ok when the opposition is thin on the ground

all other times...steer well clear imo

I think Cider's point about the gradual loss of big owners from Ditcheat hits the nail on the head.

A lot of Nicholls' owners have now passed on, but it's also true that many owners are fickle and will follow whoever is the flavour of the month. Nicholls benefitted from this when he was on a roll. Clive Smith moved from Pipe to Nicholls, David Johnson no longer gave everything to the Pipe stable and started sending Nicholls a few horses. Jim Lewis upset Henrietta by looking towards Ditcheat instead. I remember Niche Market's owner moving the horse to Nicholls when he was all-conquering. There are other examples.

Now a lot of owners are understandably looking towards Ireland, where the top trainers are hugely talented and prize money is better. Munir, Cheveley Park and many others are looking over there for jumpers now. JP used to have a good share of horses both here and in Ireland, but his homeland appears to get a far bigger chunk nowadays.

Even in the UK, he's had to share owners with Skelton (Mason, Done, Sir Alex and John Hales, before his passing) that he used to have largely to himself. Now, it appears that Skelton gets most of the good ones.

Nicholls has always bounced back from a few 'quieter' years so it might be foolish to write him off, but this feels very much like a decline, a passing of the torch.

Fickle or more savvy? If the pay the same for a horse in Stable A as Stable B, and Stable B is so much more successful than A which one would you go with? I would want the trainer to train the horse, but nothing beyond that. In the top yards do the owners actually get much of a say in targets and choice of jock? They should do.

He didn't really react to the growing importance of Cheltenham festival winners, over anything else. Arguably he benefited out of that, cleaning up outside of the festival. But in the long run, if you want a Cheltenham festival winner as an owner, there are more obvious candidates in both jurisdictions. Skelton obviously recognised that, and bent the rules to achieve them. Hendo has always prioritised the Cheltenham festival. I think it can still be argued that his strategy was best for him overall, but as I alluded to, he has nothing to draw the big owners in for now. Nearly all of them would give up three G1s outside of the festival for one at the festival.

Funnily enough there was an interesting interview with Spindleberry's owner today, on the horse's future plans. The owner wants to go for big targets, even enter for the Cheltenham GC, but seems like Mullins wanted to keep it to the mares' program. Who do you think will win that one lol

I imagine with the Mullins mafia, it's like it or lump it. Often they have multiple runners in one race, and some of them are just making up the numbers and expected to get place money at best. As an owner, they must feel like spare parts, pretty weird. But the price they pay to have one with him.

Much of Nicholls' success has come with french breds, but in recent years Mullins has cornered that market. He has never done that well with ex-Irish pointers. Derham got hold of a couple at 400,000 and 320,000. Nobody supported Nicholls in anything like the same way. Changing of the guard.

Reading this thread it's pretty obvious what Nicholls' problem has been...Skelton this, Derham that...his assistants learnt too much from him!

that's a fair point George B...and they nab a lot of his owners too!

pumpkin just retired on live TV,his supposed best horse 1st beaten, ran like a crab

The hype he gave this one smacked of desperation. Harsh reality is Paul is finished at the top table. Younger, more progressive men on both sides of the water with owners and talent spotters.

Not to get carried away,horse is a 5 yr old and Nicholls thinks the horse has potential and next year we shall see.

Harry Cobden can still ride a winner for someone else.

I would imagine he will be doing his Mount Vesuvius impression if tomorrow's results are not any better - 5 short favourites and 2 second favourites.

that ye go
9,00 Fri morning a horse pumpkin has trained 24/7 for 3 yrs potentially best 2 miler he,s ever trained, after 10 mins racing ,at 9.00 sat morning he,s to slow for a tingle creek and will be trained for a gold cup in 2030, why do professional racing people spout so much **** and make fools of themselves 24/7

No runners at Aintree today.

A fine line between a successful day and a terrible one. Monopolised ITV Racing today. Even played the lovable family man.

Was that his own kid.  Presumably so.

Been catching up with the Irish Pointing and Sales over the last few days.

Nicholls has not surprisingly felt he needed to make a splash at the Cheltenham Sales:-

Minella Yoga 370,000

Stick To The Board 215,000

Order On Time 200,000

The last two named didn't win their points, but made my list of about 20 to watch so far this season.

Nallen has managed to make a couple of massive sales. At least these two have won on the track unlike the disaster that was Minella Premier. Sold for 400,000, shunted on, and we still haven't seen him.

Given the price tag and weight concession you would have thought Minella Yoga might have been stronger in the market?

Of those three big money purchases all three have now won first time.

Things also looking a good deal better for Minella Premier.