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According to press releases, the split seems amicable enough.
That said, I do take on board the point about Nicholls’ owners.
AP McCoy mentioned in his " My Autobiography " book that when he was riding for both Martin Pipe and Paul Nicholls, he chose to ride the Pipe hotpot ( Cyborgo ) over a promising Nicholls chaser in the same race.
McCoy said Nicholls was furious. Apparently, Nicholls doesn’t take too kindly when jockeys choose another trainer’s horse over his – especially when a jockey has already ridden and won on that horse beforehand. McCoy won on Cyborgo, but it a took little time to heal the once good relationship between the pair.
Yet Walsh did the same thing many, many times with impunity. Always seemed very odd to me.
The reason he did so with impunity was because that was the ‘agreement between all parties. He had the choice at Cheltenham and such big meetings.
I am not doubting it, it just seems a very fortunate jockey arrangement for him.
As I said, how would you feel as a Nicholls owner? Your horse is ridden by Walsh all season, building up a good jockey / horse relationship, and building up some decent jockey win bonuses in to the bargain! Then come Chelts when your dreams have the chance of becoming a reality, your horse is deserted by his partner as Willie has a hotpot in opposition!
I am not arguing with your assessment at all, just looking from an owners perspective.
I’m sure Taunton, Exeter & Chepstow were delighted to hear Walsh’s reasons for the job change. Did he really need to say that?
I don’t think he has rode at Taunton for a while anyway, at least not since Kauto retired as I had a pullout from the racing post I wanted him to sign.
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I wouldn’t expect him to be riding many Nicholls horses in the future, regardless of how amicable the spin around the split appears. I would suspect there has always been a tension over the Mullins arrangement and Nicholls isn’t a guy who likes to appear to be on the back foot, he is a man who likes to take control of any situation. The betfair article, when you read between the lines, has a few barbs in it, and implicitly states that the split was by mutual consent – ‘we both agreed it was the best way forward in the circumstances.’
I’d guess the ‘circumstances’ were simply that Ruby wanted to end the arrangement and Nicholls had no alternative but to go along with it.
This next season will be a bit of a test for Nicholls. Shortage of top class horses and prospects. Firmly in Henderson’s shadow domestically and an increasingly dominant Irish challenge from Mullins now spearheaded by his own former stable jockey (no surprise if Mullins were to start targetting big UK Satuday prizes on a more frequent basis). Add to that the loss of Fry and Skelton.
You wouldn’t bet a lot against Team Ditcheat bouncing back though, would you?
I am not doubting it, it just seems a very fortunate jockey arrangement for him.
Fortunate is one word for it alright!
I’d say he couldn’t believe his luck that both trainers agreed to such an arrangement.I wouldn’t expect him to be riding many Nicholls horses in the future, regardless of how amicable the spin around the split appears.
Indeed, having announced Daryl Jacob as the new Ditcheat No. 1, it would be unfair to jock off Jacob for Walsh for the big rides. With that in mind, the only occasions where Walsh would be considered would be for second-string rides (would he want them?), or rare occasions where Nicholls has big chances at different meetings.
I am not doubting it, it just seems a very fortunate jockey arrangement for him.
Fortunate is one word for it alright!
I’d say he couldn’t believe his luck that both trainers agreed to such an arrangement.Yes indeed. The only rational explanation I have been able to come up with over the years, is that the bloke must be considered miles ahead of his peers by the two respective organisations.
And Walsh ‘putting his family first’ just happens to coincide with a significant decline in the quality of the Nicholl’s stable? I suspect as ever this is about putting Ruby Walsh first.
I said to my father several months ago that Walsh was not the same jockey over fences any more and with what’s happened this season, why not put Ruby Walsh first ? He’s risked his life thousands of times over and owes us absolutely nothing.
Nicholls has now lost two assistants and his captain.
He should turn to Fehilly as often as possible.
The split makes sense for Walsh.
Nicholls srill has good horses but his top notchers are injured or retired. Cam’t see him taking the title back from Henderson for a while.
Walsh is 34 and had some bad falls over the last couple of seasons.
He can ride for the Mullins powerbase in Ireland and prolong his career.
Will be interesting how Jacob gets on. Nicholls and his owners are a demanding bunch and have hardly shown undying loyalty to stable jocks in the past.I an surprised he as named Jacob as his number 1 jockey. I don’t rate him at all and when he is riding a NIcholls fav or fancied horse I try and find some value elsewhere.
The horses he rides seem to make a lot of mistakes or they seem to when I have backed them in the past hence why I leave him alone now.
I may be wrong in that but it will be interesting to see.
There are other jockeys about far better than Jacob IMO, Wayne Hutchinson springs to mind for one.Yes, it will be interesting to see how Daryl Jacob copes under the strain. He had a well-publicised crisis of confidence after being jocked-off The Listener a few years ago, so his resolve will surely be tested at some point in the next year. Now Jacob is a Grand National-winning rider in a top job, perhaps he is a more mature man.
If Nicholls has a bad run, will he take it out on Daryl Jacob as he has with previous jockeys? As Thommo would say, let’s see what happens…
The next couple of years will be fascinating. Paul Nicholls seems to have very few friends in the sport. A very intense and defensive man, I’m never quite sure what to make of him. I thought his handling of the Sam Thomas affair shameful; the man he supported there, Clive Smith, was also thrown to the wolves when he was of no further use to the trainer. His other big owner, John Hales comes across as something of a touchy customer too – if he jumps ship, it will make things very interesting.
Yet Nicholls seems curiously vulnerable and insecure, almost childlike at times. The coming season could be vital for him…the foundation for a fightback,or the start of a pretty rapid decline.
Noel Fehilly used to ride a fair bit for Nicholls, what happened to that arrangement?
Loved the fact that the BBC covered itself in more glory tonight on 5live. When discussing the split, they said they had agonised over which commentary to play as there had been so many great Nicholls/Walsh moments through the years. What did they plump for?
Hurricane Fly winning this years Champion.
Loved the fact that the BBC covered itself in more glory tonight on 5live. When discussing the split, they said they had agonised over which commentary to play as there had been so many great Nicholls/Walsh moments through the years. What did they plump for?
Hurricane Fly winning this years Champion.
Is that seriously correct?
Even had "Hurricane Fly wins it for Ireland" in the commentary.
They must’ve
agonised
over that choice for at least 3 seconds…
Yes, it will be interesting to see how Daryl Jacob copes under the strain. He had a well-publicised crisis of confidence after being jocked-off The Listener a few years ago, so his resolve will surely be tested at some point in the next year. Now Jacob is a Grand National-winning rider in a top job, perhaps he is a more mature man.
If Nicholls has a bad run, will he take it out on Daryl Jacob as he has with previous jockeys? As Thommo would say, let’s see what happens…
If you look at fact, Fry has got the satellite yard, few top horses, no top jockey and no Dan Skelton it reads like rats deserting a sinking ship.(several high spending owners have gone also, Simon Munir I believe is one) Jacob will undoubtedly be the fall guy should this happen, along with Harry Derham, who surely either steps up to the plate or fails. I may be wrong but this could be a rapid decline for the Nicholls team, it seems his stranglehold on French purchases is over also. Interesting times.
Was Munir ever a large investor for Nicholls? Henderson is his main trainer with King seemingly his second trainer.
Nicholls is having a down period. All trainers have this. Henderson up until the last 4-5 years wasn’t close to the talent pool he has now. King has seen a decline recently. Pipe didn’t have the ammunition he has now. It’s cyclical and in some cases entirely variable on factors you cannot control.
Nicholls isn’t going to disappear. Perhaps he has a few medicore years by his standards, but he’ll still be one of the top trainers in the country.
I’d say he couldn’t believe his luck that both trainers agreed to such an arrangement.
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