Nicholls hails bold run from Brave star
BRAVEMANSGAME confirmed his place as Paul Nicholls’ leading hope for the Cheltenham Festival with a weight-defying performance at Newbury that helped eased concerns about the form of the 12-time champion trainer’s string.
The Harry Cobden-ridden gelding gave 16lbs and a threeand-a-half-length beating to
Pats Fancy — a useful opponent who has the National Hunt Chase as his Festival target — in the Betfair Novices’ Handicap Chase and he is now 7-2 for the Brown Advisory Chase at Cheltenham.
After a week with no runners and only two winners from his previous 40 starters, Nicholls had admitted he was seeking reasons for the drop in form.
But with no obvious issues and blood tests coming up clear, Nicholls’ decision to plough on appeared to pay off.
He was also successful at Uttoxeter with Bryony Frostridden Red Risk, while Nicholls described the third places of Clan Des Obeaux and Hitman in the Denman and Game Spirit Chases respectively as solid runs from horses who ‘just weren’t good enough’.
Nicholls said: ‘Everything today has run really good races. I was confident Bravemansgame would run well, but if we hadn’t had a winner today I would have been pulling my hair out.’
Yesterday’s Newbury meeting, known as Super Saturday, was a regular Festival stepping stone for Nicholls when he trained his outstanding Gold Cup winners Denman and Kauto Star, and he will now hope it will be the perfect springboard for Bravemansgame.
Nicholls, who runs his leading novice hurdler Stage Star at Exeter today, added: ‘I learned when I had Kauto Star and Denman when they came here and went on to Cheltenham that we ran them a little bit short and that race the would bring them on.’
Meanwhile, Colin Tizzardtrained Eldorado Allen, who won the Denman Chase on his first try at three miles, could be supplemented for the Gold Cup but is more likely to run in the Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham.