Team Nicholls for Cheltenham
Since 1924, horses aged five years and older have been participating in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, trying to capture this prestigious title. It is one of the most challenging and popular events on the jumps racing calendar, hosted by the Cheltenham Racecourse, and forms part of the Cheltenham Festival. This year the Cheltenham Gold Cup will be taking place on 19 March 2010, and trainer Paul Nicholls has already chosen an extraordinary team to participate in the festival. One of the names that stands out amongst his selection is previous Cheltenham Gold Cup winner, Denman.
Nicholls believes that if it was not for the fact that Denman slipped on a landing in the 2009 Cheltenham Gold Cup, he would have won the event with ease. This year he will be coming up against last year’s winner, Kauto Star, who will be ridden by Denman’s former jockey, Ruby Walsh. Even though Kauto Star has been named as one of the favorites to win, Paul Nicholls has warned that Denman has been training better than ever and is not to be written off so easily. Denman will be ridden by Tony McCoy in the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Ruby Walsh has been assisting Nicholls with the training of all his horses, riding Kauto Star, Master Minded, Denman and Big Buck’s. All of these horses have been performing extremely well and it seems that the Cheltenham Gold Cup is going to be a very competitive and action packed event. Big Buck’s is another contender to look out for. Enjoying an unbeaten season since winning the 2009 Ladbrokes World Hurdle, Nicholls is confident that he will be a very tough horse to beat. Master Minded is yet another champion horse that finds himself on the Nicholls team for Cheltenham this year. After recovering from a few injuries, the latest being a fractured rib, Master Minded has given spectacular performances and seems to be on top form. Twist Magic will be getting ready to participate in the Queen Mother Champion Chase. Nicholls has been working very closely with him, building up a more confident and more prepared horse this year. Twist Magic will be ridden by jockey Choc Thornton. Other Nicholls horses that will be seen at the Cheltenham Festival include Tricky Trickster, Pepe Simo, Celestial Halo, Poquelin, Woolcombe Folly, Al Ferof, Advisor, Rivelist, The Nightingale, Massasoit, Tataniano, Ghizao, My Will, Chapoturgeon, Tito Bustillo, The Tother One and Taranis.
