Ascot double helps Nicholls to reduce the gap

PAUL Nicholls warmed up for what promises to be a pivotal week in the trainers’ championship with a double at Ascot completed by the victory of San Benedeto in the feature Ascot United FC Novices’ Handicap Chase.

The 10-times champion made significant inroads into the advantage held by tabletopping Nicky Henderson after the six-year-old pocketed the £29,403 first prize by seven lengths, to reduce the gap between the pair to less than £100,000.

With both trainers set to be well represented at the Randox Health Grand National Festival which starts at Aintree on Thursday, BetVictor make Henderson 1-2 favourite to capture the title and Nicholls 6-4.

Nicholls said: “It is not just a big week, but a big month. It is not just about Aintree there is the two days at Cheltenham, Ayr, Perth and Sandown.

“Next week is pivotal for me, as I’ve not got too many Grade One horses. This time next week I don’t want to be more than £200,000 behind.”

On the winner, he added: “He is an amazing horse. He has got his confidence on a high and he loves that ground.

“He will definitely run again this season. He might end up in the Celebration Chase at Sandown.

“We might enter him in the Grade One novice chase at Aintree on Saturday. Sam (Twiston-Davies) said make sure he has an entry on Saturday as he has not done anything there.”

While Present Man may not be the most straightfoward, jockey Jack Sherwood knows how to get the best out of him after registering win number four on the seven-year-old to initiate Nicholls’ double in the Geotech Soil Stabilisation Novices’ Chase.

Nicholls said of the 15-8 chance: “He loves that ground. He has been off waiting for this ground. Jack gets on well with him and just suits him.”