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I had plenty of respect for him up until recently where frankly his RP piece has become a vehicle (Soapbox) for his agenda (Preaching).
Salselon
I dont find him arrogant at all. Starightforward is the word i would use. he tells it as it is and often off the cuff too and is not slow to criticise himself when mistakes are made. He doesnt cloak himself in some sort of "genius of …blah blah" image and he doesnt get labelled as "shrewdie" for little more than the reason that he says fck all
I am completely with Reet hard here. Whatever anyone thinks of his specific views, some of the interviews hes given (one on RUK a few weeks back stands out) are head and shoulders above most of the drivel and platitudes we hear from so many trainers and are also a perfect illustration of someone completely on top of his game. In the interview i mentioned, anyone with just a cursory interest in the game would have been drawn in
The trainers championship battle with Pipe was unseemly but are we going to hang that on him for ever?
On this issue he is displaying arrogance, ignoring the fact that it is wrong to run a horse in a Grade 1 chase rated 139, though running a 136 rated horse in a Grade one hurdle is ok.
And it really wouldn’t matter a damn if he was arrogant to be honest, most professionals at the top of their game need to be arrogant to succeed, nothing wrong with that IMO.
JohnJ
Salselon
The trainers championship battle with Pipe was unseemly but are we going to hang that on him for ever?
We’d need a very thick piece of rope if we were.
Johnjo…
Maybe "driven" would be a better word? All semantics of course, but arrogance is in my eyes, displayed by those who think they are too grand to enagage with "lesser mortals"
A man in his position has a responsibility to promote the sport, so the ¨be nice to him or he wont tell us anything anymore¨ mantra is cobblers imo.
His pal, Alex The Bully hasn’t been asked a difficult question in a decade. I wouldn’t like to see the same thing happen with Nicholls.
A man in his position has a responsibility to promote the sport, so the ¨be nice to him or he wont tell us anything anymore¨ mantra is cobblers imo.
Thats OTT. Perhaps that point should be addressed at the Stoutes and Jonjo’s rather than PN?
No one is saying go easy on him and frankly there isnt a interviewer (bar Mccririck maybe) in the game who gives any trainer a hard time ever
Fair enough Clivex. What I’m trying to say is that the be nice to trainers or else attitude belongs in the dark ages.
What annoys me is he absolutely will not accept criticism of his horses ability. See his reaction after Kauto’s gold cup win which was embarassing, as in to be that angry after winning such an event. Tom Segal has probably been told no more criticising of Nicholls or his horses after questioning this season’s Kauto Star prior to the King George. Does he not recognise the journailist’s right to an opinion?
I agree his openness is to be welcomed, but that is a completely separate point, and shouldn’t mean we can’t separate and criticise other areas.
I agree…
Unfortunately (as we have seen with the paranoid Ferguson) across all sports "rigourous interviewing" is often met with childish petulance.
What annoys me is he absolutely will not accept criticism of his horses ability. See his reaction after Kauto’s gold cup win which was embarassing, as in to be that angry after winning such an event. Tom Segal has probably been told no more criticising of Nicholls or his horses after questioning this season’s Kauto Star prior to the King George. Does he not recognise the journailist’s right to an opinion?
I agree his openness is to be welcomed, but that is a completely separate point, and shouldn’t mean we can’t separate and criticise other areas.
He’s obviously been taking lessons from Sir Alex – "you don’t dare question me – or no interviews"
Fine – as Racing fights for it’s share of coverage.
Johnjo…
Maybe "driven" would be a better word? All semantics of course, but arrogance is in my eyes, displayed by those who think they are too grand to enagage with "lesser mortals"
I’ve never heard AP O’Brien referred to as arrogant yet he is highly driven.. Nicholls definitely has an arrogant streak as well as being highly motivated/driven…
Salselon
I dont find him arrogant at all. Starightforward is the word i would use. he tells it as it is and often off the cuff too and is not slow to criticise himself when mistakes are made. He doesnt cloak himself in some sort of "genius of …blah blah" image and he doesnt get labelled as "shrewdie" for little more than the reason that he says fck all
Likewise. He just seems passionate to me… I’m glad he doesn’t cloak his words with false congeniality or disclaimers of ‘Well, he is entitled to his opinion, and my opinion is…’. Do we want trainers to be guarded, trying to please everyone like a politician, or speaking in meaningless proverbs like a footballer thinking about the media reaction all of the time – or say what they think, directly and straightforwardly?
And regarding Kauto Star, I just think he is sensitive towards criticism of his horses (not himself or his training methods) especially when it takes on a vindictive or malicious tone (people shouting ‘he’s finished!’ or ‘past it!’; Clive Smith being asked if he would be retired if he didn’t win The King George on The Morning Life). With the real issues of health and safety, and well-being, that surround horse-racing, no wonder he is sensitive to anything that suggests his horses are running when ‘past it!’. When people are laying Kauto Star, they are wanting him to lose, fall, pull-up – it won’t seem nice to a trainer who is quoted as saying that Kauto Star is ‘a friend, who he would give his last apple to’.
As for Rippling Ring, I think the fact that Cerium is rated more than him is an anomaly. Who would you back in a match bet, under neutral conditions (if that was possible)? Rippling Ring is a horse with a lot of potential, was a Group 1 winner (I think) in South Africa – even if he never fulfils it, he is going in the opposite direction of Cerium. If it’s a weak renewal, he could even snatch a place if they give him too much of a lead (certainly come in the five).
As for Rippling Ring, I think the fact that Cerium is rated more than him is an anomaly.
I wouldn’t be in a rush to disagree with you on that one, nor do I doubt that if presented with this thread Mr Nicholls’ argument would follow in a similar vein. However, his argument with regards to Cerium was he wanted the OR bar raised higher, so how can he then advocate the running of one of his own string in a similar contest with a lower OR without being hypocritical?
Because BHB ratings are sometimes nonsense. Cerium is not worth that rating. If there was scope for common-sense in the framing of these races, then Nicholls would be perfectly right to run him IMO.
I think it was Nicholls who said that it was stupid that one of his novice-hurdlers was rated more than Diamond Harry, who had won far better races, and he couldn’t understand it. Diamond Harry then beat that hurdler on the bridle in his last race! I think he’s got his own ideas about BHB ratings and he’s probably right.
Can see both sides of this. I used to admire PFN for being so open with the media, but there is an element of preaching via his column nowadays, and he doesn’t seem able to take criticism particularly well at present.
However – agree with almost everything said by NWRA, particularly the last bit. Rippling Ring is a 130s horse who is (or at least was) thought to have the potential to improve into a contender for top honours. He is very much starting out and could improve.
Cerium, on the other hand, is on the downgrade, and would be better suited to hunter chasing.
What Fergus Wilson and his family get out of doing what they do is beyond me. Their horses are prefectly capable of winning in the correct grade.
A valid point was made, however, about the non-racing agreements which can be registered at Weatherbys. If connections genuinely felt that Cerium should not be raced again, they could have gone down this route. However, they chose to sell the horse (for much more than he was worth, imo) as a going concern, and therefore have no right to criticise anyone for racing the horse.
Fergus Wilson is a disgrace, however. It is only a matter of time before something happens with one of his horses in a championship race, and then everybody will be saying “why didn’t we do something about this?”…
Because BHB ratings are sometimes nonsense. Cerium is not worth that rating. If there was scope for common-sense in the framing of these races, then Nicholls would be perfectly right to run him IMO.
I think it was Nicholls who said that it was stupid that one of his novice-hurdlers was rated more than Diamond Harry, who had won far better races, and he couldn’t understand it. Diamond Harry then beat that hurdler on the bridle in his last race! I think he’s got his own ideas about BHB ratings and he’s probably right.
He was right about that one.. Massasoit I think was the horse in question and was given a 150 rating for winning a novice hurdle which is as he pointed out nonsense.
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