Having “hob nobbed” it at the Henderson yard on Monday it was time to move on to Somerset on Tuesday morning where Champion trainer Paul Nicholls held court and proudly displayed a rich array of jumping talent. By now we all realise that there will be overlaps (where one stable is keen on a horse in a race, but so is a rival yard), but I have cleverly decoded to try and keep them apart as best as possible unless it was so glaringly obvious that the trainer is ultra keen of course.
Bobs Worth was mentioned by Nicky yesterday but Paul was very very enthusiastic about Silviniaco Conti so he has to be the first horse mentioned. Already Gold Cup favourite, he has hardly put a foot wrong all season with recent wins at Haydock and Kempton, with cheek prices seeming to help him concentrate. With the ability to see his races out to the bitter end these days, they are hoping he can win the big one at last having always felt he was good enough to do so.
The stable plan to head to the World Hurdle double handed with Saphir Du Rheu the pick of stable jockey Sam Twiston-Davies and strongly fancied by the stable (those who like ante post bets may even consider a long tem Gold Cup 2016+ bet, they think that highly of him), yet I still walked away thinking there may not be a huge amount between him and stable mate Zarkandar who is maturing at last and improving even at the age of eight.
Listening carefully and making far too many notes, there may have been fifteen horses on show but my attention span is far shorter than that – so how about four horses for those who like a Lucky Fifteen – all each way in such competitive events and just as a fun suggestion?
Ptit Zig – off to the JLT Novices’ Chase for this exciting young chaser who is expected to have learnt an awful lot from his recent Ascot fall. Unbeaten over fences before that, there were no negatives from his trainer who reports him to be fine and working very well – making even the 7/2 currently available possible value.
Calipto – His below par run at Cheltenham when “only” runner up to Tiger Roll showed up a breathing issue that has now been sorted and he returned at Newbury when strongly fancied, only to finish a disappointing fourth after they misread the race tactics. A much faster pace was expected so he sat way too far out of his ground, but a fast pace at Cheltenham and likely handier position in the highly competitive County Hurdle could see him go close at a decent price.
Southfield Theatre – Lazy once he hits the front, Paul Nicholls clearly thinks a lot of the seven year old who hasn’t done a whole lot wrong with three wins out of four over fences, though be careful, he does need decent ground to be seen at his best which now explains his solitary defeat at Newbury. The RSA Chase is his target and his trainer certainly thinks he goes there with a decent chance so who am I to argue?
Bouvreuil – Not quite an unknown option but not a horse too many would name if asked, yet his trainer thinks he has a great chance in the Fred Winter Hurdle. Two races in England without success make him impossible to judge, yet they seem to think he is improving race by race, is a sure fire chase winner for future seasons, but more importantly, he arrives at Cheltenham with every chance in their valued opinion.
Sean Trivass would like to thank Ross Mitchell of www.rossmitchellphotos.co.uk for his help and all the photographs used as well as everyone at the Paul Nichols yard.