Paul Nicholls

Grade 1 winner and live Cheltenham festival contender Caldwell Potter will continue his career for trainer Paul Nicholls after lighting up the Caldwell Construction Dispersal at Tattersalls Ireland on Monday when selling to Highflyer Bloodstock's Anthony Bromley for a National Hunt record of €740,000. The Gordon Elliott-trained Caldwell Potter, who won the Paddy Power Future Champions Novice Hurdle at Leopardstown and is as short as 10-1 for the Supreme Novices' Hurdle, will race for a partnership comprising John Hales, Ged Mason, Sir Alex Ferguson and Peter Done.  Bromley commented, "You...

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) and Point-to-Point Authority (PPA) have launched a full review of the death of Keagan Kirkby on Sunday. A member of the Paul Nicholls team in Ditcheat, the 25-year-old was riding at a meeting at Charing in Kent when his horse ran through the wing of a fence in the final race of the day. "The necessary steps in response to this tragic incident commenced immediately after the race on Sunday and have continued [Monday]," stated a joint-statement from the BHA and PPA. "The BHA are...

Trainer Paul Nicholls has led the tributes to Keagan Kirkby, the amateur rider who tragically died after a fall at Charing point-to-point on Sunday. In a statement released by the Injured Jockeys Fund, the 14-time Champion National Hunt trainer, with whom Kirkby was based, described Kirkby as "one of our best, hardworking lads." Nicholls said, "Life is so hard sometimes, winners totally insignificant compared to what has happened today. Sadly, Keagan Kirkby, one of our best, hardworking lads lost his life today riding in a point-to-point. All at Team Ditcheat...

The re-located one-day Tattersalls Summer Sale, held Tuesday at Newmarket's Park Paddocks, saw 77 lots of the 96 offered pass through the ring as sold (80%) for gross receipts of 778,200gns. Formerly under the now-defunct Tattersalls Ascot umbrella, the sale averaged 10,106gns, and the median was 5,000gns. Horses owned by Rabbah Bloodstock were offered by a variety of agents and filled the top three spots, with wildcard entry Midnight Lion (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) (lot 79) bringing 85,000gns from Nick Taylor, assistant to Tom Malone Bloodstock, to top the day. The...

Trainer Paul Nicholls and bloodstock agent Tom Malone flexed their muscles at the newly-branded Goffs Arkle Sale on Tuesday by signing for three lots to the tune of €410,000, including the €160,000 day one topper, a Beaumec De Houelle (Fr) gelding already named Zamek (Fr) consigned by Mark Dwyer's Oaks Farm Stables. That was the highest average posted by any buyer on day one, however, it was the point-to-point outfit Monbeg Stables who posted the highest aggregate spend by signing for 15 lots to the tune of €784,000. Of the...

Trainer Paul Nicholls was awarded his 14th British Champion NH Trainer award, when the end-of-season champions were named at Sandown Park on Saturday. He is sitting on 3,582 British jump winners to date. Nicholls is eyeing the longstanding records of Martin Pipe, who accumulated 15 Champion Jump Trainer championships, and also saddled 4,183 winners under both codes. "It's been a fantastic season with some fantastic horses that have been very consistent all through the campaign and we are obviously thrilled," said Nicholls. "It reflects very well on the whole team...

CHELTENHAM, UK--Resplendent in bright green on St Patrick's Day, Audrey Truly clasped the Cheltenham Gold Cup as she chatted with Princess Anne while her face bore a look of disbelief. The owner could be forgiven if the enormity of the relatively smooth victory of her 7-year-old Galopin Des Champs (Fr) (Timos {Ger}) in jump racing's most prestigious race was yet to sink in.  Exactly a year ago the sleek dark brown gelding appeared to be about to back up his first Cheltenham success in the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys' Hurdle...

CHELTENHAM, UK--It always pays to take note of past Festival form, as exemplified by the winners of Wednesday's two big races, Envoi Allen (Fr) (Muhtathir {Fr}) and Sire Du Berlais (Fr) (Poliglote {GB}). They had respectively made four and five previous appearances at Cheltenham in March, with Envoi Allen having won the G1 Weatherbys Champion Bumper and G1 Ballymore Novices' Hurdle prior to his emotional return to the winner's circle after the G1 Ryanair Chase, completing the full set of top-level Festival wins in three different spheres. The 11-year-old Sire...

Sean Doyle pulls Monbeg Park (Ire) (Walk In The Park {Ire}) out of his stable and says proudly, "That's the type of horse the likes of Willie Mullins and Eddie O'Leary want to buy."  It begs the question, why is Monbeg Park lining out for Doyle and not any of the powerhouse stables in Sunday's G1 Lawlor's Of Naas Novice Hurdle? After all, Doyle has earned a reputation for selling future stars rather than racing them and can count a Cheltenham Festival-winning graduate to his roll of honour almost every...

Waterville (Ire), the main attraction on day one of the Autumn horses-in-training sale at Tattersalls, did not disappoint by topping the session at 410,000gns to join Chris Waller in Australia.  Guy Mulcaster, who also bought the 84-rated Postwick (GB) (Postponed {Ire}) from Barton Sales for 130,000gns to join Waller, secured Coolmore's Irish Cesarewitch winner.  Described by his trainer Aidan O'Brien at the beginning of the season as a lively each-way contender for the Derby, Waterville [lot 275] never made it to Epsom but went some way to justifying that high...

The 2021/22 UK Jumps Champions were crowned during the bet365 Jump Finale at Sandown Park on Saturday. Brian Hughes, who became only the fourth NH jockey to ride a double century of winners in a season, was named the UK Champion Jumps Jockey for a second time. His win total sits at 204, 99 ahead of Sam Twiston-Davies in second. Hughes, who won the title in 2019/20 said, "It is something at the start of the season I set out to try and do and it is great that it...

The first Tattersalls Cheltenham Preview Panel will be available for viewing on YouTube and Facebook at 7:30 p.m. on Mar. 10, Tattersalls announced on Monday. Hosted by Vanessa Ryle, Richard Pugh, and Jamie Codd, the trio will be joined by guests Paul Nicholls, Anthony Bromley, Tom Malone, Cormac Doyle (Monbeg Stables) and owner John Dance. There will also be insights into the runners in the build up to the Cheltenham Festival on Mar. 16-19, as well as bloodstock analysis on some Cheltenham hopefuls.