PNicholls

When Nicky's assistant Tom Symonds announced he was leaving Seven Barrows last month, it got me thinking about my team at Ditcheat and how important Dan is to me.

So we had a long chat after Cheltenham, and I have decided to hand over the day-to-day training of my bumper horses/hurdlers to him next season - all bar the top-flighters like Big Buck's, of course - and give him more responsibility.

I will train the chasers and proven Grade 1 horses from Highbridge, where I live and am having a new house built, while Dan will train from the main stable, where he lives on site.

The transition should be seamless. He deserves it, and hopefully it will stop him leaving for new challenges and opportunities elsewhere!

I have heard Tom described as "gifted with an encyclopaedic brain for form, breeding and most other racing data".

And while some at Ditcheat may think that Dan struggles to get past page 3 of the Sun each morning, he is a brilliant horseman, all the owners here know and appreciate that, and he won't let anybody down.

I have thought for a while that I have been spreading myself a bit too thinly with so many horses here, and at our pre-training yards, and the name of the game these days is identifying and bringing in new talent, as well as maximising what you have got.

We have had some great success with our hurdlers down the years - indeed, our three Festival winners this year were all hurdlers - but chasers are my passion and my raison d'etre.

So next season I am going to take a much more hands-on role in sourcing, viewing and buying all the new incoming horses, and keeping a closer eye on the pre-training yards, often on a daily basis.

Nothing will slip under the radar.

That will be time-consuming, involving more trips abroad, but I will at least save on some hefty agents' fees.

The one stumbling block to this is the Trainers' Championship. I am still in a real tussle with Nicky this year, and if I am fortunate enough to retain my title, I wouldn't like to relinquish it without a fight.

So I rang up the BHA and they are looking into the situation for me.

Obviously, everyone knows I am up front about my stable and horses. And I wouldn't want punters to think I am training the bumpers and hurdlers, when some young whippersnapper is.

But, if as a result, the BHA say that Dan has to take out a full licence, and I have to relinquish the bumpers/hurdlers and Dan gets my money, then I will have to have a rethink.

The BHA's initial thoughts are that I may have to officially hand over the horses to Dan to register and train. If that is the case, then I can assure you nothing will be changing.

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