Who is greatest -Nicholls or Henderson
Who is the greatest trainer - Nicholls or Henderson.
- #1Paul Nicholls
- #2Nicky Henderson
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Tough choice. Without doubt Nicky has trained the better horses certainly since Kauto Star, and in Sprinter Sacre and Constitution Hill possibly the greatest chaser and hurdler ever. His Cheltenham record is exceptional even without the battalions of Willy Mullins.
On the other hand, Paul Nicholls has had his back to the wall since the Irish domination. I cannot help but admire his fierce defence of the trainer’s championship season after season. I have no doubt given Willy Mullins horses Nicholls would produce the goods.
So I have gone for Paul Nicholls.
“But where does Elliott fit in. 🙂”
4th. If he would buy a better range of horses rather than lots of very expensive beautiful looking big framed 3 mile maiden point winning boats, then probably 2nd.
Nicky for champion hurdlers and champion chasers over the year. Paul for Gold cups, king George’s etc
I gone for Paul NichollsVF x
Oh, I’m not so sure about the 2m champion chasers. Paul has won six CCs and eleven Tingle Creeks. Nicky is also on six CC winners, but only has two Tingle Creeks to his name. probably because he doesn’t like running them that early in December.
I believe the question asks who is the greatest of these two and not if they are the greatest.
The more I know the less I understand.
Fred Winter? I remember when Crisp, Pendil, Bula, and Killiney were in his stable.
Tom Dreaper, Vincent O’Brien, Tony Dickinson?Of the two choices, has to be Nichols; amazing how his horses always seem to jump so well.
VF has it right.
Both over fences and hurdles, Henderson at 2 miles and Nicholls for stayers.Other than that, it’s impossible to choose.
Value Is EverythingHenderson is blind and still sends out winners you can’t beat that
Gaelic Warrior Gold Cup Winner 2026
The greatest what?
You omitted to quantify what question if any, you are seeking an answer for.Since neither is the greatest in any field, this seems rather a pointless exercise corm.
Which is the greater of the other perhaps?
Nicky might shade that one out of depth of service and experience.
In four more seasons Pumpy might carry the King’s favours and assume the associated benefits of a hugely sought after yard by royal appointment.
We’d all be looking to buy Robinson’s rather than smyth’s bottled preserves by reputation through the coat of arms.
There are few comparisons to make between the two they seem poles apart.
They are quite like chalk and cheese. Both can be great and both can grate.
One has a sweet tooth and likes biscuits.
One has a silver spoon 🥄 and nothing sticks.Vincent O’Brien does he come into the equation or has racing been reinvented?Rather like before the premier league, there was nothing.
Before anyone mentions goats 🐐…..Before Saturday, Shiskin had the best seasonal reappearance record.
Rolling Stones
Hackney Diamonds 💎
Tell me straightNicholls for me, though I think they are both true greats.
I see staying chasing as being the pinnacle of Jumps racing, and Nicholls’ achievements with Kauto Star and Denman shine brightest of all in my view.
Henderson also seems to have helped influence the common attitude of the Festival being the be all and end all, and of not running star horses very frequently.
Both are great trainers in my view , but as others have stated , are still inferior to
Mullins , Dickinson , O’Brien and Winter. I think that Henderson is currently operating at a slightly higher level of the two. As he puts the interests of his horses first , and doesn’t give two hoots about what anyone thinks about it , I have chosen him in response to the original question.I think what the original question means is that these two trainers have been at the top of the British trainers lists for some time now and… They are BOTH “GREAT TRAINERSS”. It’s just a question which is the greatest out of the two?
Whether you want to choose is entirely up to the TRFer.
For me, Henderson’s 2 mile Chasers and Hurdlers are greater than Nicholls…
And Nicholls staying Hurdlers and Chasers are greater than Hendersons.So I can’t vote.
Value Is Everything“Mullins , Dickinson , O’Brien and Winter.”
All of whom, great trainers though they were/are, lag behind the man who revolutionised the sport: a certain M C Pipe.
All the usual suspects mentioned (Nicholls, Henderson, Mullins etc.) have proved that when the money is behind them and they have the raw material they can win the top races or get the horse to realise its potential, they have also had periods where they haven’t had the best in their yard and have looked like they have struggled. The same goes/went for Stoute and Cecil on the flat.
The O,Neill question is interesting but he is reliant on JP who does not seem to want to send him his best. Would O’Neill do any worse with Jonbon.
Horses and Owners make trainers. A lot of training nowadays seems to be keeping the human team happy and working through the logistics of having a 200 plus stable.
I worked for a trainer and we had a team that could have got any horse to fulfil its potential the one thing we had was a person at the top who basically loved horses but hated people and would fall out with owners left right and centre. So we struggled to keep anything of quality.
I voted Nicholls. I think he has been able to cope with a churn of human resource, a lot who have gone on to compete against him and has also seemed to replenish his horse stock by buying youngsters and bringing them on.
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