Grand performance puts Nicholls on track for four-timer

PAUL Nicholls maintained his domination of Chepstow’s opening meeting of the National Hunt season on Saturday by saddling another four winners.

The victories of Hell Red, Secret Investor, Grand Sancy and Knappers Hill gave the former champion trainer a haul of eight successes across the two-day fixture.

Nicholls often targets the meeting with some of his better horses as it signals the start of the jumps season proper, and his chances were boosted as a host of fancied runners from other stables were withdrawn on Saturday due to the drying ground.

Grand Sancy easily got the better of just two rivals to take the valuable novices’ chase and Nicholls said: “He settled the best he ever has and he jumped well.”

He was also excited by the performance of Hell Red, who hacked up by 12 lengths in the juvenile hurdle.

“He’ll be so much better on soft ground and the Grade 1 they have here on Welsh National Day might be good for him,” he added.

But Nicholls was out of luck in the big race of the day, as the Wasdell Group Silver Trophy went to Tea Clipper. The 7-2 favourite was ridden by Jonathan Burke for trainer Tom Lacey.

Mont Des Avaloirs was a faller for Nicholls in a race won by Welsh jockey Connor Brace on board Pink-Eyed Pedro for trainer and granddad David.

The focus of Welsh racing now switches to Ffos Las, with the Carmarthenshire track staging the Welsh Champion Hurdle – the track’s richest race of the year – next Sunday.