Paul Nicholls Stable Tour 2025/26 - Key quotes from top British trainer

He was a much-maligned horse last season, and it gave me great satisfaction when he provided me with my 50th Festival success. After winning on his chasing debut at Carlisle in December he finished third to Jango Baie at Cheltenham later that month then runner-up to Gidleigh Park at Kempton. There was little wrong with either of those defeats but probably as a result of his price tag, there was unnecessary backlash on social media. We had never lost faith in him, and he silenced the doubters in the extended two and a half mile novices’ handicap chase at the Cheltenham Festival where he jumped better than any horse all week. He was carrying the colours of the late John Hales who had passed away in January and he came out of the race so well that we took him up to Aintree for the Mildmay Novices’. He had luck on his side as four of the main contenders were taken out of the race when Dancing City fell and Harry never saw another rival. He has been a real challenge having to sort out problems with his feet but, touch wood, we have worked that one out. We could start him in the Weatherbys Intermediate Chase at Newton Abbot on October 18. We will then consider but the Paddy Power Gold Cup at Cheltenham on November 15 or the Betfair Chase at Haydock a week later.

He jumped beautifully at home before his race at Carlisle and I was mortified when he fell. However, he no signs of any ill effects for that fall and jumped as we expected him to when winning a novices’ handicap chase at Newbury. He then went to Cheltenham for anontther novices’ handicap and the way he won there left me with no doubt he was a graded chaser. The next step would have been the Kingmaker at Warwick, but the owners had L’Eau du Sud running there so we opted for the Scilly Isles at Sandown and for some reason ran poorly. Some of ours weren’t running very well at that stage and it was bottomless ground, and I think he wants decent ground. We wanted to give him time to get over that experience, so we skipped Cheltenham, and we went to Aintree for his first attempt at a Grade 1. He never saw another rival and simply jumped superbly. Now we only hope he can reach the next level, and the idea is to run in the Haldon Gold Cup in early-November, and I hope he will be lining up for the Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham come March. I don’t want to over-hype the horse, but I have never hidden the high regard in which I hold him and he could have the chasing world at his feet.

He has been a wonderful servant to the stable and looked better than evet when wining the Betfair Ascot Chase for a third time in February. He put in his only lacklustre performance when pulled up in the Oaksey Chase at Sandown in April after a bad mistake early on. He looks great and he could go for the 1965 Chase at Ascot again on November 22 which he will be bidding to win for the third year in a row. The Peterborough Chase at Huntingdon on December 8 would be another option and we might enter him for the King Geoge at Kempton.

He came good at Aintree in April when we fitted him with a hood and the better ground suited him well. He has done very well during the summer and is in great form at home. We have always thought the world of him and anything he achieved over hurdles we thought was a bonus. He will go novice chasing this year and eventually he will be a three-miler.

He has been another very good horse for us, and he won the Grade 2 Elite Hurdle at Wincanton for a second consecutive year before switching to fences and winning the Grade 2 Pendil Chase at Kempton. He will probably mix the two again and could go for a Listed Hurdle at Kempton on October 19, which he has also won for the past two years. The Byrne Group Chase at Ascot and Grade 2 Haldon Gold Cup at Exeter are other options we will consider.

She joined us from France last season and took a little while to acclimatise but ended her season with a very good effort in a mares’ juvenile handicap hurdle at Cheltenham in April.

He was far to free on his debut for us over two and a half miles at Ffos Las, but we dropped him in trip and he won his next two starts. He acts well on good ground, and I wasn’t going to run on that firm summer ground but he looks well for his break and will return shortly in novices’ or handicap hurdles. I feel there is a lot more to come from him.

He made a winning debut in a bumper at Hereford in December and we intended running him again, but the ground was either desperate or too quick. He looks a very promising sort and has done plenty of schooling and jumps well. He should be a nice horse for novice hurdles and will benefit from going up to two and a half miles later on.

She was bought by Anthony Bromley at Deauville’s Arqana Sale in July on Bryony Frost’s recommendation as she rode her to win. There are some good opportunities for her in Juvenile Fillies’ races and, hopefully, she is a decent recruit.

He is a full-brother to Envoi Allen, who won the Ballymore as novice. Joyau Allen won his bumper at Exeter and then sustained an injury when runner-up back in February of last year. He came back in early and has done plenty of work and he jumps really well. Hopefully, he is going to have a productive season in novice company.

He looked very good when winning his bumper at Warwick on New Year’s Eve and then ran ok in the Champion bumper at Cheltenham. He is a horse we like and, hopefully, he can develop into a Challow Hurdle contender.

He was bought by my daughter Megan privately in Ireland from Donnacha O’Brien and he looks a nice prospect for Juvenile Hurdles.

He didn’t get his head in front last season, which was frustrating, but he has a good record around Musselburgh, and it made sense to take him back up there at the start of February to try and repeat his 2024 win in the Scottish County Hurdle. Last time he went down by a length, but it showed he was coming back to form and his big chance of landing a decent race came in the Imperial Cup at Sandown. He looked all over the winner when hitting the front going to the last but was just run out of it up the hill and finished a very close third. He didn’t run up to that form in two subsequent runs and now starts the season on a mark 8lb less than 12 months ago. Hopefully, he can win a decent handicap hurdle somewhere and as he loves Musselburgh we may be heading back up there. We might start him of in the two-mile handicap at Cheltenham’s Showcase Meeting in October and we will also look to go novice chasing at some stage.

She is a lovely mare and did us proud season. She was third in a listed mares’ hurdle at Newbury on her reappearance in November and was beaten under two lengths after being slightly awkward at the last two flights but she made no mistakes at Taunton the following month. She was out again in a valuable novice at Windsor in the middle of January and beat a decent mare of Emma Lavelle’s Bluey a length and three quarters conceding 3lb. We put her away after that to wait for the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham but came home eighth in a race in which she could not cope with a very strong contingent from Ireland. We stepped up to two and half miles at Cheltenham in April and Harry (Cobden) rode the perfect waiting race, and she came through to win well. There are plenty of opportunities in the mares’ division this season and the fact she stays two and a half miles give us further encouragement. She is a very tough and honest mare with a touch of class, and she can hopefully, carry on where she left off.

He won the Pertemps for us the season before last and has been hard to place but ran two cracking races when runner-up in the Coral Long Distance and the Cleeve Hurdle last season. He will remain over hurdles and the West Yorkshire Hurdle at Wetherby looks a likely first port of call.

He is a horse I think a bit about and he could turn out to be a very smart horse. He won twice at Ffos Las last season. We will decide whether to stay over hurdles or go novice chasing. He jumps well and will make a lovely two-mile novice chaser.

He made a promising start for us at Chepstow when runner-up to The New Lion and obviously we didn’t know just how good the winner was at that stage. He had little trouble going one better at Ascot in December and then won an EBF Qualifier at Market Rasen in February. 125 looked a reasonable mark of the Final at Sandown but he dropped away tamely in the closing stages and was found to have bled. It was happening to a few of ours at the time and it wasn’t too serious. He looks a lovely prospect for novice chases and that is where his future lies. He could start over two and a half miles but he will stay three.

He had a stiff task giving 6lb to Lucky Place in the Coral Hurdle at Ascot but was only beaten a length and was close up in fifth to Crambo when he went back for the Long Walk. He struggled in conditions in his next two starts at Windsor and Fontwell. He was seen to much better effect back on decent ground in the Select Hurdle at Sandown when beating Salver a head and he looks the sort that could make a much better chaser than he was a hurdler. He has done very well over the summer, and he will make his chasing debut at Chepstow on Saturday. If all goes to plan there, he would be a contender for the Rising Stars at Wincanton on November 8 and he is one we have very high hopes for.

Most unfortunately, he finished lame after he finished fourth to The Jukebox Man in a very competitive Grade 2 at Newbury. He is fine now but I wanted to give him a full 12 months off, and I checked with the BHA that he didn’t lose his novice chase status for his walkover at Exeter. If all remains well with him, he’ll be a major asset in our staying novice chase division.

He has proved a sensation since we adopted frontrunning tactics on him and has risen to his current mark of 131 from an opening mark this season of 108. He will continue to run whilst the ground is good or good to soft and then we will give him a winter break.

He is a horse I like a lot, and he could do well in novice hurdles for us. He is a full brother to The Big Breakaway, and he too is a big chasing type. He scored comfortably in his bumper at Ffos Las in December, and we had intended running him in the bumper at the Ayr Grand National meeting, but the ground was too quick.

He won at Fakenham, Taunton and Kempton for us before running too freely in a listed event at Perth. We will send him novice chasing and he will eventually stay three miles.

He had time off after suffering a hairline fracture to his pelvis when going over fences at Sandown in November 2023 and we kept him to hurdles when he returned last November and after an introductory win, he ran out a wide margin winner when going back to Sandown. We will give him another chance going chasing. He could develop into a Welsh National horse as he is at his best on heavy ground.

He has had a wind operation through the summer after struggling a bit with breathing last season. He was twice a winner over hurdles including when winning over three miles at the Scottish Grand National Meeting and looks an exciting prospect for novices’ chases. He doesn’t want it too soft, but he could well develop into a Graded chaser.

Brave Kingdom

He has had fragile legs over the years, and we have had to be careful with him but he made promising reappearance on his first run for ten months when third in the Mandarin Chase on good to soft. He bled next time out at Uttoxeter, which caused me some concern. He always goes well when fresh so we will look for something decent to run him in when he is ready.

He is a recent recruit to the yard, and we are still learning about him but races like the Grand Sefton and Becher Chases at Aintree would be on the radar.

He has picked up almost £350,000 in win and place prize money and you wouldn’t mind a few more like him but, remarkably, he has finished runner-up in 11 starts in his career so far. He finished runner-up in the Old Roan even though he had done loads of the work and in his second run at Ascot in January he looked all over the winner but found the concession of 20lb to Terresita too much. He then chased home Djelo in the Denman Chase where he was filling the runner-up spot for a third time running. He could start off in the Old Roan Chase again and, hopefully, we can have more fun with him this year.

Il Ridoto loves the track at Cheltenham and, after making the frame in 2022 and 2023, finally had his big day. He was fighting a losing battle against the handicapper afterwards, but he has slipped back 5lb and the aim is to go for the race for a fourth time. He always needs his first run and he always shows his best form in the autumn.

We brought him back at Newbury over hurdles last November as pipe-opener to his chasing debut and ran really well to finish third to Impose Toi. That put him right for return to Newbury month later in a novices’ handicap chase where he went two places better and the form was subsequently boosted by the second, fifth and sixth. Unfortunately, he returned with a minor hind suspensory issue which meant he couldn’t run again. He is a horse I like a lot, and we are looking forward to his return in graduation races somewhere.

He is brilliant when fresh, so we decided not to give him a race before the Coral Cup and elected to give him a racecourse gallop at Newbury a couple of weeks before. The race looked ideal for him as he was a second-season novice, loves the track, loves going left-handed and looked fairly handicapped. I love it when a long-term plan comes to fruition. He never gave a moment of worry and when Harry took him to the front at the second last, he just galloped on strongly to win. He had jumped around the Aintree the previous spring when finishing third in the Topham so as he stayed so well it seemed logical step to go for the National and we gave him a race over two miles and four furlongs back at Newbury which would bring him and he was just outpaced over that shorter trip. He was our number one hope for the National and was going nicely behind the eventual winner Nick Rockett when falling at the fence before Becher’s on the second circuit. Something like the Cotswold Chase at Cheltenham might be suitable for him.

He got jarred up on quick ground in the Rising Stars Novices’ Chase in November 2023 and he has been seen on the track for best part of two years but returned back over hurdles in the Silver Trophy Handicap at Chepstow on Saturday. He has been back in since the beginning of July with the view to having him ready early on He is 6lb lower over hurdles than he is over fences and it will be great to have him back. I have a few ideas in my head and thinking of where Graduation Chases come be on the agenda and there is a race at Haydock on Betfair Chase Day I have my eyes on.

He is back in training after suffering a setback and remains lightly raced over fences. The aim is to give him two runs before the Welsh National at Chepstow.

He has now won five times over fences and was runner-up to Sans Bruit in the Sussex Champion Chase at Plumpton. We stepped him up to two and a half miles at Uttoxeter the following month and he could go for an Intermediate Chase at Newton Abbot on October 18.

He once again came good in the spring when winning the Red Rum Chase at Aintree before following up in the Sussex Champion Chase at Plumpton. He has risen in the weights, and it won’t be easy for him but there are plenty of options for him including the Haldon Gold Cup and a valuable two-mile handicap chase at Ascot.

He was placed in his first two handicap chases at Ascot last season, but he isn’t the easiest horse to place off his rating of 152. We tried him in the Grand National last year, but the Scottish National at Ayr might be the better option, and he will follow a similar programme to last year.

He is on a fair mark over fences, and we will campaign him in decent staying handicap chases. He finished fourth in the Grade 2 Esher Novices’ Chase at Sandown and fourth in the Grade 1 Kauto Star Novices’ Chase at Kempton and that experience can only have benefited him.