Paul Nicholls takes best squad in a generation to Cheltenham Festival aiming for more ‘week-long pub sessions’

PAUL NICHOLLS — your country needs you!

British fans might be battening down the hatches ahead of an anticipated ‘greenwash’ at Cheltenham this year, with the Irish responsible for a whopping 25 favourites across the four days.

PAPaul Nicholls is heading to Cheltenham with a strong squad[/caption]

But when you’ve got a pumped up Paul Nicholls in your corner, there is a chance Britannia will rule in more races than you might expect at the Festival.

You can always rely on the 14-time champion trainer to man the barricades and we will be pretty reliant on him this year, with Nicky Henderson’s team severely depleted without superstar Constitution Hill.

In fairness, Nicholls’ 2024 Festival team  is arguably the strongest he has taken to the Cotswolds in a generation.

It’s still a far cry from the glory days, when Kauto Star, Denman, Masterminded and Big Buck’s were in their pomp.

But who’s to say Team Ditcheat won’t have a week like they had 25 years ago – when Nicholls’ first ever Festival winner turned into  his second and third.

In 1999, the fresh-faced trainer saluted Flagship Uberalles in the Arkle, Call Equiname in the Champion Chase and See More Business in the Gold Cup.

There’s no doubt about it, those results put Nicholls on the map.

He said: “What an amazing week that was. 25 years ago? Christ! I didn’t realise that.

“When you start training, the only thing you want is a Cheltenham winner. I’d been training for about eight years by then and hadn’t had much of a sniff, then three came at once.

“That kick-started everything for us. We might not have had the Kauto’s and Denman’s several years later if it wasn’t for that week. We’ve had 48 Cheltenham winners and it would be nice to get to 50 in 25 years, wouldn’t it?

“When Flagship won, we went down to the pub and had a bit of a party. I said to everyone: “we best enjoy this” because we had no idea when the next one would come.

“The following day, Call Equiname goes and wins the Champion Chase. We repeated the previous night’s festivities, God we couldn’t believe it.

“Next day ‘See More’ did the business, we were in the pub for a week! Oh it was just amazing, absolutely amazing. It took a while to recover from the hangover but it was worth it.”

A quarter of a century may have passed but the champion trainer hasn’t mellowed one bit. He is still a ferocious competitor and will celebrate his big successes with plenty of gusto.

And he will be gutted if he isn’t on the board this week, especially with Ginny’s Destiny in the Turners’ Novices Chase and Stage Star in the Ryanair.

Nicholls said: “It’s always hard to win at the Festival but it’s got harder, being up against Gordon and Willie’s battalions.

“It’s all about having the right horses, that is the key thing, I’ve never liked running loads at Cheltenham for the sake of it.

“I think we have a lovely team this year and I’d say Ginny’s Destiny is our best chance.

“I can’t tell you how much he has improved this season, he is a proper horse, he loves Cheltenham and he jumps for fun.

“We are hoping for a big run from Stage Star, too. You can completely forget his run on New Year’s Day, he will leave that form well behind.

“And we’ve got plenty of other good chances, Stay Away Fay is in great form and has a massive chance in the Brown Advisory, and Teeshan is a lovely horse and has a good chance in the Champion Bumper.”

But if you are going to take on the Irish and beat them, you need a secret weapon up your sleeve – and Nicholls has one in the form of his stable jockey Harry Cobden.

He continued: “Some people deal with pressure better than others and Harry is just like Ruby (Walsh) in that sense.

“Ruby was with me for years and  was so laid back like Harry. He rides similar to Ruby, too. He’s top class, we get on great and he is still only 24, so there is more to come.”

England expects (a disaster) – but you can put you faith in Paul.

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