Dreaming of a Winter warmer
PAUL NICHOLLS believes Dreamcatching can give him a fourth success in the Fred Winter Hurdle at next month’s Cheltenham Festival.
Nicholls, the third most successful trainer at the meeting with 40 winners, lacks the big guns of the past but believes he can win his fair share of the handicaps.
“The Fred Winter is a race we’ve had a good record in,” said Nicholls. “We had the first two home last year when Diego Du Charmil proved too strong for Romain De Senam.
“Also, we won it two years ago with Qualando and with Sanctuaire in 2010. “Dreamcatching was an impressive winner at Wincanton on Saturday. He has a mark of 131.
“So he’s around the right mark. We fancied him at Kempton over Christmas but he ran very free and didn’t get home.”
Clifford Baker, Nicholls’ headman, also nominates Dreamcatching as the stable’s best prospect.
Nicholls is not running horses at the Festival for the sake of it. An 11th trainers’ championship is clearly on his mind but he plays down that idea, like he does every year.
“We are not wasting shots at Cheltenham when you’ve got Aintree round the corner,” said Nicholls.
“We will have 18 to 20 runners. We are going through a spell of waiting for the better young horses to come through and Politologue is one.
“He runs in the JLT. He’s three from four over fences this year, and just had a canter around Kempton last week.
“He’s rated close to 150 which is a smart mark for a novice over fences.
“We put a hood on him at Kempton and he was very relaxed. The one thing with him is he’s a grand jumper.”
Nicholls, who had three winners at the Festival last year, nominates Romain De Senam as a serious player.
“He runs in the Close Brothers Novice Handicap Chase,” he said. “He’s on the right mark and he’s crying out for two and a half miles.” by CHRIS GOULDING