Paul_Nicholls_(horse_racing)

Paul Nicholls (horse racing)

Paul Nicholls (horse racing)

English horse trainer

This article is about the English horse trainer. For other people of the same name, see Paul Nicholls (disambiguation).

Paul Frank Nicholls OBE (born 17 April 1962) is a British National Hunt horse trainer with stables at Ditcheat, Somerset. A relatively successful jump jockey, Nicholls has become the leading National Hunt trainer of his generation in Britain, finishing the 2007–08 season with 155 winners and a record £4 million in prize money. As of April 2023, he has trained over 3,500 winners, won the 2012 Grand National, four Cheltenham Gold Cups and has been crowned British jump racing Champion Trainer fourteen times.

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Early life and education

The son of a policeman,[1] Nicholls was educated at Marlwood School, Alveston before leaving at 16 to take up work in a local point-to-point yard.

Jockey career

Nicholls turned conditional in 1982 under the tutelage of Josh Gifford before joining David Barons in 1985, and became stable jockey in 1986. It was with Barons that Nicholls was most closely associated during his riding career. The pair enjoyed numerous big race successes, including back-to-back wins in the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury with Broadheath in 1986 and Playschool the following year. Playschool also won the 1987 Welsh Grand National, and the 1988 Irish Hennessy Gold Cup with Nicholls. Playschool was subsequently made favourite for the 1988 Cheltenham Gold Cup[2] but was pulled up before the 20th fence. Barons attributed Playschool's lacklustre performance to doping but his claims were never substantiated.[2] Following a broken leg when kicked by a horse during pre-season training sustained in 1989, Nicholls retired from the saddle having ridden a respectable 133 winners during a seven-year career.[3]

Training career

Nicholls took out his trainer's licence in 1991, having served a two-year apprenticeship as assistant trainer to Barons which saw him assist in Seagram's winning Grand National attempt.[1] In response to an advert placed in the Sporting Life, Nicholls began his training operation at Manor Farm, Ditcheat, in stables rented from local dairy farmer Paul Barber.[2] Starting with just eight horses,[4] his first winner soon followed, the appropriately named Olveston, owned by Nicholls' father and named after the South Gloucestershire village in which he was raised. A steady climb up the training ladder followed, with Nicholls' first grade one success coming with See More Indians in the Feltham Novices' Chase at Kempton in 1993.[2]

However, it was the 1999 Cheltenham Festival that saw Nicholls' breakthrough into jump racing's elite, winning three of the most prestigious steeplechases in National Hunt racing. Nicholls enjoyed a memorable meeting, collecting the Queen Mother Champion Chase with Call Equiname,[5] the Arkle Challenge Trophy with Flagship Uberalles,[5] and the Gold Cup with See More Business.[5] However, it was not until the end of the 2005–06 season, after seven years of filling the runners up spot that Nicholls was finally crowned Champion Trainer for the first time, his eventual coronation coming after a long struggle for supremacy with multiple champion Martin Pipe.[1]

The appointment of the Irish rider Ruby Walsh as stable jockey strengthened Nicholls' hand in the big races. Their major successes include the Queen Mother Champion Chase with Azertyuiop (2004)[6] and Master Minded (2008 and 2009),[7][8] five wins in the King George VI Chase with Kauto Star (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011)[9] and the Cheltenham Gold Cup with Kauto Star in 2007 and 2009.[10] Nicholls' finest hour came in the 2008 Cheltenham Gold Cup where he saddled the first three horses home: in finishing order, Denman (ridden by Sam Thomas), Kauto Star and Neptune Collonges.[11] At the high of his stable stars' powers, Nicholls' dominance extended across the Irish Sea and his horses plundered Ireland's most valuable jumping prizes with increasing regularity.

In December 2008, Nicholls trained his 50th grade one winner when Master Minded (ridden by AP McCoy) won the Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown,[12] and on 5 November 2011, Kauto Stone made Nicholls the fastest National Hunt trainer to reach 2000 winners.[4][13]

Many equine stars have been nurtured by Nicholls and there are few top prizes to elude him, the two missing races from his UK portfolio were added in 2012 when Rock on Ruby won the Champion Hurdle[14] and Neptune Collonges, ridden by Daryl Jacob, won the Grand National.[15]

In April 2016, he won the champion trainer's title for the tenth time.[16]

Nicholls was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2020 New Year Honours for services to the horse racing industry.[17]

Personal life

Nicholls is renowned for being approachable and media-friendly. He writes a popular column on Betfair[18] and his frank and honest opinions are well respected by members of the racing public.

Away from racing, Nicholls has a keen interest in horticulture, particularly rose growing.[19] He is also an avid supporter of Manchester United, whose long-time manager Sir Alex Ferguson has several horses in training with Nicholls.[20]

In November 2009, Nicholls starred alongside Kauto Star in a short film to promote Somerset, commissioned by inward investment agency Into Somerset.[21]

He has been married three times.[22][23] He married Georgie Brown in Barbados in May 2011.[22][23] The couple have two children, while Nicholls also has a daughter from his second marriage[22][23] and a son by a fourth relationship.[24]

Cheltenham winners (49)

Major wins

United Kingdom Great Britain

Republic of Ireland Ireland


France France

References

  1. [1]
    The Kauto Star story BBC Sport, 1 March 2012
  2. [2]
    Deep Bramble pricks Nicholls' memories The Independent, 9 March 1995
  3. [3]
    Harry Derham, nephew of champion trainer Paul Nicholls, aims to become professional jockey Gazette Series, 4 November 2010
  4. [4]
    Nicholls' mark etched in Stone The Independent, 6 November 2011
  5. [5]
    Paul Nicholls BBC Sport, 10 November 2003
  6. [6]
    Flyer falls as Azertyuiop romps home guardian.co.uk, 17 March 2004
  7. [7]
    Cheltenham Festival: Favourite Master Minded wins Queen Mother Champion Chase The Telegraph, 11 March 2009
  8. [8]
    Master Minded set to shine at Cheltenham This is Somerset, 10 March 2011
  9. [9]
    Brilliant Kauto Star wins fifth King George VI Chase at Kempton guardian.co.uk, 26 December 2011
  10. [10]
    Historic Gold Cup win for Kauto BBC Sport, 13 March 2009
  11. [11]
    Denman storms to Gold Cup victory BBC Sport, 14 March 2008
  12. [12]
    "Master Minded wins Tingle Creek". 11 December 2010.
  13. [13]
    Kauto Stone brings up Nicholls' 2,000th win RacingPost.com, 5 November 2011
  14. [14]
    Cheltenham Festival: Rock on Ruby lands Champion Hurdle BBC Sport, 13 March 2012
  15. [15]
    Grand National: Neptune Collonges seals dramatic victory BBC Sport, 14 April 2012
  16. [16]
    Allison, Peter (28 April 2014). "Sire de Grugy finishes season on a high". The Scotsman. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
  17. [17]
    "No. 62866". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 December 2019. p. N14.
  18. [18]
    Paul Nicholls Betfair
  19. [19]
    Gold for Horses, Green for Gardening Somerset Life
  20. [20]
    Ouzia, Malik (20 November 2020). "Sir Alex as competitive as ever as Nicholls targets Haydock glory". Evening Standard. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  21. [21]
    INTO SOMERSET LAUNCHES NEW ONLINE CELEBRITY FILM Archived 20 April 2013 at archive.today Into Somerset, 10 November 2009
  22. [22]
    Trainer Nicholls' surprise Barbados wedding This is Somerset, 2 June 2011 [dead link]
  23. [23]
    "Nicholls in secret wedding in Barbados". The Racing Post. MGN LTD. 18 May 2011. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  24. [24]
    Davies, David (29 April 2023). "Paul Nicholls receives the champion trainer trophy alongside son Henry and partner Poppy Hemmings at Sandown Park Racecourse, Surrey". alamy. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
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