Welcome to our profile of thirteen times British National Hunt Champion Trainer Paul Nicholls.
Paul Nicholls is a leading UK National Hunt horse racing trainer and believes the 2024 Cheltenham Festival is the Olympics of Horse Racing.
Find all of Paul Nicholls’s best chances of a winner at the Cheltenham Festival 2024.
We at key facts, overall, profile and big wins and more.
Find out more about Paul Nicholls:
Contents
Paul Nicholls Entries
Here are all the Paul Nicholls horses running today and future entries.
An unexpected error occurred.If no entries are shown above then Paul Nicholls has no racehorses confirmed to run.
Paul Nicholls Recent Form
Here are all the latest finishing positions for horses trained by Paul Nicholls.
An unexpected error occurred.The Paul Nicholls recent form is interesting to see if they are one of the inform trainers.
Paul Nicholls – Key Stats
- Name – Paul Nicholls
- Date of Birth – 17 April 1962
- Birthplace – Lydney, Gloucestershire
- Racing Yard – Ditcheat, Somerset
- Big Wins: Cheltenham Gold Cup (4), King George VI Chase (13), Queen Mother Champion Chase (6), Champion Hurdle, Grand National, Stayers Hurdle (4), Arkle Challenge Trophy (2), Betfair Chase (6), Ascot Chase (4), Tingle Creek Chase (11), Punchestown Gold Cup (3), Irish Gold Cup and countless other top jumps prizes in Britain and Ireland.
- Age – 61 years old
- Nationality – British
Trainer Profile of Paul Nicholls
Nicholls was always destined to be involved in jump racing, leaving school at 16 to work in a local point-to-point stable.
He served as a conditional jockey for Josh Gifford before becoming stable jockey to David Barons in 1986. The combination won the Hennessy Gold Cup in 1986 with Broadheath and in 1987 with Playschool. The latter won the Welsh Grand National and the Irish Hennessy but was a disappointing favourite in the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Nicholls retired from riding in 1989 with 133 winners to his name and took out a training licence two years’ later. He had assisted Barons to the 1991 Grand National success of Seagram. His first winner was his father’s Olveston at Hereford in 1991 and in 1993 he claimed his first Grade 1 victory with See More Indians at Kempton Park.
In 1999 he won the Queen Mother Champion Chase, the Arkle and the Cheltenham Gold Cup. He quickly became established as the biggest rival of Champion Trainer Martin Pipe, eventually winning his first trainers title in 2005-06.
Paul Nicholls – Key Trainer Stats
Nicholls has trained more than 3500 winners under rules.
He has thirteen champion trainer titles, his highest tally coming in 2020-21 with 176 winners.
He is closing in on 150 Grade 1 winners including four Cheltenham Gold Cups and an incredible thirteen King George VI Chase victories.
He has 46 Cheltenham Festival winners and has been the top trainer at the meeting on six occasions. This included a run of four successful festivals from 2006 to 2009.
He was awarded the OBE in the 2020 New Year’s Honours list.
Paul Nicholls’s Big Race Wins
See More Business provided Nicholls with his first Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1999. He then won it for three successive seasons with Kauto Star (2007 and 2009) and Denman (2008).
Kauto Star became the first horse to regain the Cheltenham Gold Cup after losing it. He also famously won a record five King George VI Chases. The versatile chaser also won the Tingle Creek Chase twice and the Betfair Chase four times.
Nicholls record in the King George is exceptional with Bravemansgame taking his total to thirteen in 2022.
For a long time it seemed that the Grand National would elude Nicholls until Neptune Collonges got the photo-finish verdict in 2012.
He has also won the Welsh Grand National twice and the Scottish Grand National three times.
His major wins in Ireland include the Irish Gold Cup, the Punchestown Gold Cup three times and the Ladbrokes Champion Chase five times.
Paul Nicholls – Most Famous Victories
There have been so many famous victories for the Nicholls stable that it is difficult to pick out a handful.
His Grand National victory was unexpected, despite the grey having proved himself at Grade 1 level on numerous occasions. He was retired immediately after his nose victory over Sunnyhillboy.
Nicholls saddled the 1,2 in the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2008 and 2009.
He trained Denman to topple the great Kauto Star with the placings being reversed the following season.
Kauto Star’s fifth King George VI Chase victory in 2011 was another momentous occasion, surpassing the record of four-time winner Desert Orchid.
Kauto Star was ridden by Ruby Walsh to both Gold Cup and all five King George wins.
Summary of Paul Nicholls Racing Trainer
Despite a few lean seasons at the Cheltenham Festival, Nicholls remains a dominant force on the British racing scene.
He is now within two titles of equalling Martin Pipe in the all-time records.
A superb trainer who delivers season after season.
Guides to the Best Horse Racing Trainers
Here are all the comprehensive guides for horse racing trainers.
