PNicholls

[b]A fantastic tribute to my legendary chaser as the race that Denman so memorably won in 2008 is to be renamed in his honour.[/b] With the likes of Kauto Star, Master Minded and Big Buck's in the stable, I am lucky enough to NOT be able to say that Denman is a once-in-lifetime-horse for me and the team here at Ditcheat. But of course [b]Denman is a legend[/b] - and I dare say he will always be the favourite for many in the yard, and fans in general, because of his attritional and confrontational style of racing - and myself and his owner Paul Barber were very proud to be told by [b]Betfair[/b] today that Denman is to have a race named after him at Newbury. And Newbury is a very fitting course, too. Not only is it one of my favourite tracks, but Denman didn't seem to mind it ...

It is with great regret that I have to announce the retirement of Denman. A scan yesterday afternoon revealed tiny damage to his near fore tendon, so this morning marks the end of an era for Ditcheat. Denman was great on Wednesday morning as he worked towards his intended start in the Lexus later this month, but he pulled up a little bit sore yesterday morning and Clifford wasn't happy with him. So we called Buffy (our vet) in to scan him at 4pm yesterday afternoon, and that revealed the problem with his near fore tendon. We immediately informed his owner Paul Barber who, after consulting those close to him, took the decision to retire him. It was the only course of action to take. We are all devastated here at Ditcheat but Denman has given us some wonderful moments on...

It is not often that one of the best horses in recent decades slips under the radar. But does anyone remember a horse called Denman? You may vaguely recall him. Big sort, who we have had a bit of luck with since he joined us in 2005 after winning his sole start in an Irish point. Yes, that's the one. The 10-length winner of the Sun Alliance in 2007; the Hennessy winner in 2007 and 2009 who managed to squeeze in a seven-length defeat of Kauto Star in the 2008 Gold Cup in between. And runner-up in two other Cheltenham Gold Cups besides. But how many calls have I taken about him this season? I am struggling to recall one outside of the usual stable tour visits. I know we have been fortunate enough to enjoy success after success on big Saturdays this season, with Kauto Star, Big...

[b]Kauto and Denman are enjoying themselves out in the field and it's business as usual for Big Buck's. Paul Nicholls provides an update on his top horses.[/b] As I said earlier, in many ways this is a season of the changing of the old guard here at Ditcheat. But I suppose we still have the odd established star here and there, too, even if some of them probably won't be around for much longer. Of course, there has been a lot of speculation about [b]Kauto Star's[/b] future after his Punchestown run. But he is still out enjoying himself in a field with [b]Denman[/b], and we will leave him there for a bit longer while the sun is still shining, though they may both come back in next Monday. There are no plans at all for Kauto at this stage, and won't be until I sit down and talk to...

[b]Many of the big names at Ditcheat are in the twilight of their careers but with six new arrivals from Graham Wylie and a host of promising new names there are many reasons to be cheerful and 2011-12 could be a year to remember for Paul and the team...[/b] We always aim to have 20 winners by September 1 and I am very happy with the way that my summer horses have gone, with 17 winners at a strike rate of 33 per cent. But of course the [b]"real" season[/b] doesn't really begin until October and we have been busy upgrading for the challenges that lie ahead. And challenges certainly do lie ahead, because this season represents a "Changing Of The Guard" for Ditcheat, with some established stars coming towards the end of their careers and a few notable departures from the yard. In...

A word of warning for Betfair punters - in fact, three. The first is that you can't always trust Cheltenham form at Aintree. Admittedly, three horses won at both Festivals last year - Big Buck's, Peddlers Cross and Albertas Run - but you simply never know for sure what running at Cheltenham, the most competitive of racing environments, has taken out of your horse. Different track, different ground, different day often leads to different results, with the form not standing up. In addition, you never know what has happened to the horses in between. And I can reveal here that I have had a couple of minor scares with Big Buck's and Zarkandar this week. Big Buck's always tends to give me a scare before big races, which is very nice of him. He worked moderately on the Saturday ...

First of all, I would like to say a massive thank you to all the people who have sent letters, emails, texts and cards about the way my Gold Cup horses ran. It's a good job Kauto or Denman didn't win, or else the postman would have had a heart attack delivering the post up my office stairs. As it was, the feedback has been truly phenomenal. It has simply astounded me, and we have had more correspondence this week than we had when Kauto won his Gold Cups, and Denman his. All my horses have come out of the race fine and I definitely think Denman has improved for the wind operation. Not necessarily in the race itself, but the recovery time. He has got over his hard race quicker this time around. On a similar note, initially, I was going to put Sam Winner away for the reason after...

Here are my views on our quartet of runners in the Gold Cup today: [b]Denman:[/b] Rain would certainly be a great help to Denman's chances. He is a horse the public have really taken to because he is a trier, a fighter and a bruiser; the Marvin Hagler to Kauto Star's Sugar Ray Leonard. Has had his problems since his finest hour - a 7 length defeat of Kauto in this race in 2008 - but has continued to turn in some devastatingly good performances since, notably when winning the 2009 Hennessy. And you would have thought he had won that race for the third time this season to judge from the reception he got coming in after finishing third to Diamond Harry at Newbury. Although he was eventually beaten over 15 lengths there, he was giving lumps of weight away to the youngsters Diamond Harry ...

[b]A quartet of leading chances from Paul Nicholls' stable put in some good work this morning.[/b] We took four of our big Festival guns for a racecourse gallop this morning, and they all fired nicely. They all worked over 2m, going a nice steady gallop, then quickening up in the final furlong. Denman (Sam Thomas) worked with Big Buck's (Harry Skelton), and Poquelin (Ian Popham) worked with Ghizao (Nick Scholfield). All four went nicely, but it was not a serious gallop. It was just a nice trip out for them. I revealed Denman had a soft palate operation here last night and the reason why we gave him that was to give him every possible chance of winning at Cheltenham. And he went well this morning, and luckily that put Paul Barber, watching the gallop, in a good mood. So...