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Strange column there from Nicholls. He says he then approached Ruby and AP, after ruling out Daryl Jacob because of Jacob’s ‘mindset’ regarding the ride. He should have rung me (or any of us on here) and saved himself at least one phone call because ANYBODY could have told him neither of those two would be in a position to agree to any long-standing committment to Big Buck’s.
He was also at pains to point out Jacob isn’t a retained jockey but their ‘main’ jockey and that ‘Noel rides Silviniaco’.
Personally, I like both jockeys (STD and DJ) but I’d give Twiston-Davies the edge. He seems hungrier, stronger and just simply more of a raw talent than Jacob, although Jacob is a fine jockey in his own right.
Nicholls jockey problem is that Mullins, Henderson and McManus have the three oustanding jockeys tied up. With the brightest talent across the Irish Sea now linked with Gigginstown he probably views keeping Twiston-Davies on-side as tactically important. However, with AP and Ruby both surely nearing retirement, if Nicholls tries to be too cute playing the jockey-go-round he could find himself missing out again.
When Paul goes public with criticism, it’s time to get your coat. I’ll be surprised if DJ is still there come the Festival
When Paul goes public with criticism, it’s time to get your coat. I’ll be surprised if DJ is still there come the Festival
Yeah, hard to believe they could have such a working relationship when Nicholls is essentially saying that you lack bottle!!
SHL
Interesting listening to McGrath and Lee on the Sunday Forum yesterday. It sounds like Jacob is quite brittle confidence wise and was in bits over the King George having sided with Al Ferof. I do vaguely recall some emotional issues in the past.
The lad has won some big races and landed Nicholls the biggest pot of the lot with a great ride on Neptune C. I don’t seem to recall him making a pigs ear of any big ride either – Zarkander in the triumph was a good one.
All very strange, one thing’s for sure, the story has got legs beyond the Big Bucks ride.
I bet STD was hooting to himself inside during the morning line that the bunch of cretins hadn;t picked up on the story. As they say, Big Mac would have read every single newspaper by 7am and no way would this have been missed. Heads should roll over this, probbaly the biggest news story so far this year.
Sam probably asked the C4 team not to mention the booking.
In his betfair column Nicholls has made things sound even worse than they did before.
"The simple fact is that Daryl has never given me the impression that he was mad keen to ride Big Buck’s. If he had, then he could have been on the horse in the Cleeve Hurdle. End of story. And with Andy’s full blessing and agreement".
Am sorry, but does anyone really believe Jacob did not want to ride Big Buck’s?
"We have obviously been discussing Big Buck’s’ comeback for a few weeks at Ditcheat and it became clear to me that Daryl had doubts about riding him in the Cleeve, and that immediately put a big doubt in my mind. It was the lack of him being positive more than anything else. So we talked it over at length and Daryl explained how he viewed the ride, almost as if he saw it as something of a poisoned chalice".
It’s obvious that after a long lay off/injury there’s going to question marks to be answered. So anyone riding Big Buck’s is going to have
"doubts"
about current ability. And of course with a run of 1’s against his name, it is indeed
"something of a poisened chalice"
for Jacob to now take the ride. Only natural for any jockey to think these things (given the same situation) in private, even if not going public with those feelings.
"He explained that, in his opinion, Big Buck’s was part of a past generation here at Ditcheat – the last remnant of the Kauto Star and Denman era, if you will – that he has never been part of that, and his focus was on the future. It was as if he regarded the ride as being in a no-win situation. If Big Buck’s won, it was all down to the horse. If he lost, and that phenomenal unbeaten run with it, it was down to him. That is no way to approach any race".
Fact is Big Buck’s is now an 11 year old, he is of a different "era". To think Jacob did not want to ride Big Buck’s just because he’s part of Dicheat’s
"past"
– is crazy. He’s also part of the present. The words
"It was as if he regarded the ride as being in a no-win situation"
, is a massive public criticism of his own jockey. Big Buck’s is on a long winning run, it is only to be expected for people to regard any defeat as the new jockey’s fault. A "no-win situation" does not mean Jacob does not want to win.
As well as being confident, jockeys need also to be realists. It should always be the owner’s (and trainer’s) prerogative to appoint a jockey of his/her choice. However, all Nicholls has taught his jockeys in this instance is: If you want to get the ride – NEVER (even in private) portray anything but 100% confidence about any of his horses.
From this point onwards Nicholls won’t get the truth from any of his jockeys.
Value Is EverythingSam probably asked the C4 team not to mention the booking.
Highly unlikely, unless you have inside info. You’re giving C4 racing too much credit, Luck as much as admitted they had missed the story in the afternoon.
Why should they or Sam not want to mention it, it was already in the public domain and a good story for Sam.
As has been said Big Mac wouldn’t have missed it.Sam probably asked the C4 team not to mention the booking.
Highly unlikely, unless you have inside info. You’re giving C4 racing too much credit, Luck as much as admitted they had missed the story in the afternoon.
Why should they or Sam not want to mention it, it was already in the public domain and a good story for Sam.
As has been said Big Mac wouldn’t have missed it.Quite right Big Mac would not have missed that story…whether he would have missed that we are no longer living in 19th century is, however, another matter.
If
Big Bucks
makes a successful comeback in the Cleeve hurdle and he needs too otherwise he’ll be retired then its on to Cheltenham and the World hurdle and even if he does turn up he’s the Lay of the meeting at current prices so all this fuss about riding an 11yo for one last Hoorah will seem pointless afterwards.
Jacob’s Crackers
I made a good few quid on that old chestnut Joe, when Jacob rode Cream Cracker to victory a few years ago, as a 5lb claimer at Newton Abbot.
Thanks for the good crack. Time for me to move on. Be lucky.
It does seem a bit strange to make all this public, and although Nicholls says he’s not knocking Jacob, it very much sounds like he is.
Either way, is it not possible that Jacob has said, well you want a jockey for both the Cleeve and the World Hurdle, I’d rather be on Zarkandar anwyay? I don’t want to be the jockey to get beat on Big Bucks, but maybe be the jockey to beat Big Bucks.
He would be a fool to turn down the ride if Big Bucks wins both, but wouldn’t Jacob be privy to how both the horses are going at the moment?
It sounds like he was only hesitant…must be more to it than that. It all seems a very funny situation with the yard’s No 1 jockey not on one the best horses of a generation, not on the King George winner, but rides the rest of the owners horses…..
I’m sure Paul Nicholls knows what he’s doing….Steve, I hope you bought the DVD of Seabiscuit with your winnings
DJ is a goner. PFN employed the same ‘going public’ tactics to rid himself of Sam Thomas, though he wielded just one stiletto there. He has set about DJ with a broadsword
Nicholls gets plenty praise for being open with the media, but he has always manipulated the media to his own ends. Don’t mistake him for a trainer: he’s the CEO of a large training organisation.
Whatever business Nicholls went into, he’d have ended up near the top of it, if not CEO.
Didn’t Daryl ride Zarkander in the Triumph. If so, might he be staying loyal to a horse that probably gave him one of his best wins [prior to the National].
Didn’t Daryl ride Zarkander in the Triumph. If so, might he be staying loyal to a horse that probably gave him one of his best wins [prior to the National].
It’s not as if their chances are similar Moehat, or even close. Big Buck’s is currently around 5/2 for the World Hurdle, Zarkander is around 22/1 on betfair. Bookmakers sometimes get it wrong, but not that wrong. If Zarkandar had a chance only half of Big Buck’s you could see "loyalty" coming in to things; not when the difference is currently around six times.
Value Is EverythingTruth is that Nicholls and his powerful and monied owners (most of whom are self made businessmen) are very demanding of their jockeys.
Unless you are a established big name like a Walsh, you won’t get backed for long.
Murphy gave the yard no choice after the drunken antics on the plane and subsequent jail sentence but Tizzard and Thomas didn’t last long (the latter was blamed for falling off Big Bucks).
Nicholls could have got Fehily but chose Jacob.
Nicholls and Smith even fell out over Kauto Star being removed from the yard and being turned into a dressage horse.
Bottom line is the owners pay big £ for the horses and training fees and can have who they want.In his book Murphy says Nicholls gets pressure from the owners which he then passes on to the jockey.
I rate Sam Twiston Davies over Jacob but am bemused at the love in the press hacks have with him just because they see him as approachable and communicative. Little Willy has even been given a job with Channon though what he has done to deserve it God knows. IMO Channon not a good judge and stable in decline.
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