Paul Nicholls – my team for the 2024 Cheltenham Festival

Gone are the days of Paul Nicholls’ enviable squad of Kauto Star, Denman, Big Buck’s and Master Minded being the headline acts at the Cheltenham Festival.

However, the Ditcheat maestro has a small but select team for this year’s meeting.

Bravemansgame will attempt to go one better in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, Stage Star looks to have leading claims in the Ryanair, whilst Ginny’s Destiny, Stay Away Fay and Captain Teague all have leading claims across the novice division over both hurdles and fences.

Nicholls spoke to Racing TV’s Nick Lightfoot about his team.

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Well it is a place that needs little introduction behind me is ditchit the home of the champion trainer Paul Nichols who is very close indeed to 50 winners at the chelton festival he stands on 48 having settled that amazing treble back in 99 with the arle winner

The champion Chase and unse business in the Gold Cup and with the quality that he’s got to look forward to in 2024 that Landmark might just be in Sight first show you Ray Man’s game Paul we’re we’re approaching the chel festival there’s so much talk of course there is going into each and every year Ju Just how do you feel at this stage of the Season every year like it’s a lot of pressure this time of year

Because you want to get everything right you want the horses to stay right you don’t want any stupid injuries um and you also one have plenty of winners which luckily we have been having the last couple of three weeks yeah um remarkably I know we’re obviously going

To refocus on the future and rightly so but I guess when you reflect 25 years since that epic 1999 the Aral the champion Chase and then the Gold Cup in the same week was it and it was three days then was that just a week to dream

Of at that stage of your life your career it was surre real really um you know I was getting frustrated cuz I had a Chan winner and you everybody wants judges you I think on Cham winners or whatever and we’ve been tickling along nicely and I think it was only 8 years

We’ve been training to me at the time it s felt like 28 years yeah and then of course you know we went into that week with some chances and first day Flagship ues with Joe won the arle we enjoyed that night and then then the next day we

Won the champion Chas with call E name with Fitzy on board and then the next day won the gold cup with SE more visitors a game with Fitzy on board just an incredible three days it’s just like I look back now and think I it was just like a whirlwind the whole thing

Happened it’s just like a dream to be honest with you so were you coming back here each night and then going out to chel and thinking it can’t happen it can’t happen and it was happening like you know we go down the manner that night and we come Bo we about celebrate

Because it won’t happen again then then just kept on and on and on and it was just one of those incredible weeks unbelievable and very lucky for me because that keep started my career really and those you know I’ve got fantastic painting down in my living room home with those three horses heads

Winning it CH that’s and they they basically changed my life really so quarter of century on on the cusp of 50 winners there at the meeting it is a special place filled with the most awesome horses competitors human and eoin I guess that kind of sums it up as

A as an entity the Chon Festival yeah it’s the Olympics of our sport is it it’s it’s the best I mean you there’s a lot of good racing either side of Cham in this country and you can’t be solely focused on the cham Festival but everybody in racing wants J winners and

That’s what we all try and Achieve how would you summarize 2024 Squad a small select team we got a dozen Runners um hopefully horses have got chances you know that’s the ideas to pick out horses and run the horses are my mind they got chances if they’re not good enough they

Don’t want to be running the CH they want to be going where they can win how far in advance do you think you you hone down who is for what obviously they got to stay fit and healthy they got to stay fit and healthy and and like I at the

Start of the season if You’ have said to me Jin’s Destiny would be favorite for the Turners we’d probably all smart at ourselves but those horses do develop through the season and and put them themselves in on the team Sheet as it were um and the obvious ones that like

Last year’s two winners you’d like to think they’d stay sound and end up going back and you you know pretty well the ones you you do pretty well know the ones that you think are going to be good enough they get a few surprises in Jen’s Destiny and lari who who’s unbeaten in

Three juvenile hurdles tishan who’s just joined the team and one you know that you get surprises but you try and select what you think would go to Cham and be competitive four Gold Cup winners I know how much they mean to you I know how much they mean to Clifford Baker we

Spoke to him earlier he said he would love to be associated with a Gold Cup winner again yeah what about this year look we got a chance he was second in it last year he’s a good horse he’s coming right back to his best now at the right

Time I don’t think we’ve had him at his best in his three runs this season for different reasons really um but last year’s winers gallab Champ’s going to be hard to beat on on the form book you know we beat us fair and square last

Year and I don’t know what we can do to beat in this year he he seems awesome his two wins Leone have been incredible so I think there three or four horses underneath him that are probably on a par with each other yeah um have got it

All to do to beat the favorite with um his season so far I know he had the three yeah runs at the end of last year going into the beginning of 2024 I know he didn’t win or hasn’t won yet but um it’s not like they’ve been bad runs any

Of them they not at all he ran second in the Charlie Hall on heavy gra which and he wasn’t really fully wed that day then I suppose the bfat chase came quick enough after that and then that was another hard race before the King

George um and I don’t he ran well in the King George he’s been running well in all three races but I don’t think he’s been quite at his best um hence we’ve kept him fresh we didn’t want to run him and I tell he’s right back there again

Sun started to shine he looks great in his coat he jumped very well Harry was particularly impressed and he scored him last week and said to me he feels right back to his best ma ran away with him one of the gallops and I think he’s in

Good shape and last year clearly going King George took it wasn’t a bad bad route was it it wasn’t and I that’s why we’ve done that again as I said I don’t think I keep saying I didn’t cover myself a glory in the in the in the Autumn with training

Him but it was just the way the cards fell and I can see Brian Drew’s point of going for the b f there’s only four runners it’s 200 odd Grand race so you’ve got to give it a go sometimes you don’t win races in your Stables but in

Hindsight I think probably we haven’t yet had him where we want him he’s best very fit and very fresh stage star is already a chelton festival winner if he is back to where he was when he won the Patty power World Cup which is a handicapping performance was awesome how

Big a player is he in the r air oh massive if we had run one used he be favorite and I just by run him on New Year’s Day I probably was looking for any excuse not to him we didn’t really have one and it didn’t work out he’s

Fine now I’d put a line through that run and um very happy with the prep and the way he looks and he’s he is good fresh and he loves the track that Paddy Power it it I think the data showed how many lengths he lost at that last fence to

Still go on and do what he did that was awesome wasn’t it well that says how good was and if he runs like that he’ll run very close you know he he and we think he’s we think he’s there he’s not the easiest in the world to train he has

A few little issues but we know them we’ve dealt with them and as I said we’re happy with him have you been working back from the r a All Season yeah yeah and and I if I hadn’t run him on New Year’s Day at end of the day he

Was favoring 100 Grand race um he wouldn’t have had a run from you know end could have ended up with two runs in the season because it’s not and he has to go left-handed and we hadn’t gone up to three the only race I could have

Probably run in him run him in if i’ wanted to was a Denman Chase but would that been getting close enough to CH probably was so I think we’ve done the right thing well you ran Hitman in that and I guess he was third in the r air

Last year he deserves his place do different horse totally different horse to Stage star and I’ve just let him come along quietly I hadn’t been hard on him so I was thrilled with his run in the um in the demo Chas second to shiskin and

You know he was just behind well not you know he ran well behind shiskin in last’s Ryan Air Chase so if he runs in that sort of form he’s got a chance of be in place definitely at least you mentioned him earlier but how much fun have you had with jinny’s Destiny this

Year uh incredible because you know the improvement from his second third and fourth run have been amazing he showed us had at home mind you he he had improved incredibly and um his work was good and he just seems to suit our system and just got better and better

And better what kind of a horse did you feel you actually took on when you first got him just a nice horse he’d run some solid races as been spectacular lovely horse to go novice chasing with took a lot getting fit he was nowhere near fit

On his first run and the only time only way we were going to get him ready was to give him a run and get bit of experience but we knew he’d take a huge step forward from that first run and never thought he’d end up where he is

Now I mean he’s rated higher now I think than what stage show was going into the race last year when did you think we could run him in a grade one at the festival let alone maybe be favor for after Third Run yeah he was he was very

Very good that day top we just did it very nicely and it’s on the obviously the the the course switch for the Thursday the new course and him seem to click together quite you’ve had horses that that have that that sort of attribute before haven’t you yeah big

Galloping that one more so it’s not quite as sharp as the as the old course which will go against we might talk about minut stay away fth it suits it suits jinder’s Destiny very well um if he were to go and win at the chelton Festival this year would that be uh by

Way of a season the biggest sort of pleasant surprise you’d ever had as a trainer well it wouldn’t be now but it would have been earlier in the season you know because we didn’t really know what we had I mean I hadn’t trained him before but it didn’t take us long to

Work out we got a very smart horse and actually um Claudia rides him every day and rides P Dory and she kept telling me all he’s as good as P Dory and I’ve kept laughing at her all season but actually she might be right we might be going to

Claudia at the end and saying you you had it right all along um yeah stay stay away F brilliant winner last year of course of the Albert Bartlett has his novice Chase season been what you expected so far yeah he’s won two two good races he won that nice

Race at sandan ran very well against the the big boys as it were it chant that won’t be lost on him that experience the only negative to me is anyone the AR Butler that was on the new course the the Cal Chase it was on the new course

The brand Advisory is on the old course which we all know is a little bit sharper and easier not so much emphasis on stamina which might count against him so we need the race to be you good solid Gallop or he’s going to have to do something himself because he’s all about

Staying do you think you L learned Lots about him while he would have of course learned from the experience of of the cotwell chase did you learn a little bit more about him as well I think I think he learned I think that race won’t be lost on him for his whole

Future I was thinking about novices you’ve run in open coming Al for didn’t he we’ve run a few we’ve run a few but you know I wasn’t there wasn’t too the problem is now in this country there’s not too many races those horses can run in if I’d have waited for the Reynolds

To to me that was too close to chham for him and I knew that the timing worked out last year from Charles’s day like when he ran at Doncaster to the festival gave us a nice time to give him a little tiny bright and then really drill him

And have him ready for the big day um so it won’t be lost on him but I just I wish was on the new course not the old course but we can’t have it all always He he’ll he’ll be very competitive I know that and is it the easy decision to

Make rather than the the staying the staying race the national hunt Chase I wanted to keep Harry on him that’s why he stay with jocking none of us were Keen to run in the other race look listen we could have used will bck and you wouldn’t get anyone better than will

Bidi but I think we’re right Stand Down the nov route and lastly with him this time next year if we were to speak do you think he he would be a a player potentially for the Gold Cup well I to think so he’s got to take a huge step

Forward I just whether he just lacks a gear just to be that Speedy enough for a go where bra man’s got plenty of boot and can travel he’s more he’s a bit more like demon a bit of a stay but I mean I’d like to think in my mind

We might start in the BET F Chas next year that’s three and A4 miles big that would suit him nicely that might tell us where we go obviously you’d have an enter in the coral Gold Cup and things like that but he could be just high

Enough for handicaps but um no I’d like to think so yeah I just wanted to mention to you that the champion bumper this year there’s t- is T going to be alone or might he be joined well he might be joined by two yet actually um

Queca he’s a nice horse always said he was going to run in the race just like Captain and Ted GL year he’s a nice horse not as such a talking horse as Tan’s been obviously a lot of pressure off us when he won the other day cuz you

Know there have been a lot of talk about him point to point but anyway he did that nicely they’re both horses the same as Captain Teague and I might just run Farland as well who’s a an hugely talented horse but he’s a bit quirky he

Won it faking him the other day he’d run well in a big race at punches stand in the spring and he was second in a good bumper a Tre but he’s just a bit naughty yeah um but it’s got a huge amount of talent he’s the sort who wouldn’t

Surprise you you’re around 50 to one or something like that so I might run three and when you have the right horse for it I know you you said about Captain T Alpha ran a good race behind qard all those years ago where he ended up yeah

Yeah that’s what I mean that I guess you can’t lose too much by running in the race je I think we’ve run in the race has been placed it ended up being a grade one winning hurdler there you go so you know let’s hope we can do the

Same game with one of these two and I just want to mention as well Captain T who was your latest winner of the Chalo her what a run that’s been all systems go for the the festival yeah he’s well ready he’s going to have a Gallup at

Kempton with bra man’s game just to put the finishing touches to him everything’s gone well he running either the the um two and a half mile or the arber BART i’ probably if the gra was like the sunshine and there was a little bit was good to soft he’

Probably running the arber B so late decision potentially on that one probably but I think in my mind I know what I’m thinking later down the line for him it’s all about chasing isn’t it chasing next season so in conclusion having talked about it just quite excitement about the squad you’re always

Excited to go to Cham with horses and we got some nice chances you know it’s be hard races to win you could have all of them run well and not win you know but it’s nice to have some serious chances wish you luck thank you very much indeed