Newbury's Betfair Super Saturday gives Paul Nicholls' horses a chance to shine
Modus at Nicholls' Somerset yardBetfair Super Saturday (February 13) is Newbury Racecourse's first major meeting of the year - and its Betfair Hurdle will be a major test for Modus trained by nine-times champion trainer Paul Nicholls at his Ditcheat yard in Somerset.
The six-year-old chestnut gelding is at present the 5-1 favourite with Betfair to win the £155,000 race - won last year by the Gary Moore trained Violet Dancer. The race is Britain's most valuable handicap hurdle. Paul Nicholls won the race in 2012 with Zarkandar.
Modus - described by Nicholls as 'a good bumper horse' - was sold at the Cheltenham sale in May last year for £190,000 and is now owned by J.P. McManus. He won his first two hurdle races for his new owner - Taunton (November 12) and Newbury (November 26).
On his third outing he came third at Taunton on December 30 when, in Paul Nichols' words, the ground was "Heavier, heavier and heavier in places." He has not raced since: "I wanted him to settle in after his races. He needs better ground, but he's lots of stamina."
Nicholls with Dodging Bullets (L) & Silviniaco Conti (R)In the Betfair Super Saturday meeting Nicholls also has Dodging Bullets running in the Betfair Exchange Chasse and Rocky Creek in the Betfair Denman Chase.
It will be the eight year-old Dodging Bullets' first run of the season. Nicholls thinks he will lead the race: "I'm absolutely thrilled with him at the moment."
Last season he won three Grade One races in a row. This season he has been troubled with injury - going lame and throwing an enormous splint which confined him to his box for a month. He has now been fine for the last eight weeks: "I don't think we have ever had him quite so fit and well going into his first race of the season...He should be at the peak of his powers now."
How he does in this first outing of the season will show how he is set for the Cheltenham Festival: "Hopefully this race will put him spot on for his bid to retain his title in the Queen Mother Champion Chase."
Rocky Creek goes in Newbury's Betfair Denman Chase Rocky Creek is running in the Betfair Denman Chase at Newbury on Saturday. He has not run since 5 December when he was pulled up at Aintree, but Nicholls has every confidence he is now in good shape. He has come first or been placed in ten of his fifteen steeplechase starts.
"He is a good solid staying chaser. He is also in the Cheltenham Gold Cup but is very unlikely to run in it as there are other races for him. Saturday's race is ideal for him as it is a valuable prize and he does like Newbury. He is a definite runner whatever the ground."
Another Nicholls' entry at Newbury on Saturday will be Capeland. He is a four-year-old French-bred bay gelding going in the meeting's bumper, the Tap Tap Boom National Hunt flat race. He won his first outing in England, a listed race at Cheltenham on New Year's Day on ground that was officially 'Heavy - soft in places'. Nicholls is sure he will make a good chaser in the future.
Newbury expects the ground on Saturday will be "Soft - heavy in places - obviously it will be testing."
Paul NichollsThe rain has taken its toll on the jump season with meetings abandoned and the size of fields reduced. But Nicholls knows more than he need about the rain.
On Saturday one of his yards suffered a flash flood that left up to three feet of water in the some of the boxes and horses had to be evacuated and after the water subsided, their bedding replaced: "It happens once every few years. It's just nuisance value - especially when it happens on a Saturday evening and there're no staff on."
On Tuesday morning 120 horses rode out from Nicholls' yards and he has as many as thirty horses that have not raced so far this season. He had a good start with a run of results in October: "Then it went a bit quieter."
He is looking forward to the Spring - and better ground: "I've never known a season like it. Everyone needs better ground - it's going to be a busy spring for everyone."
Last year several of his star horses reached the end of their careers: "This is a massive transitional year - we've lots of four-year-olds - rebuilding doesn't happen over night."
Nicholls with Silviniaco ContiThe other horse on show on Tuesday during the press event at Nicholls' Ditcheat stables was Silviniaco Conti. The ten-year-old chestnut is set to run in the Betfair Ascot Chase on February 20.
Two times winner of Kempton's Boxing Day King George VI Chase, he was pulled up in the 2015 race.
He has an entry for the Grand National in April but is unlikely to take it up. Nicholls said he does not really want him to go to Cheltenham. But he will go to Punchestown and there is already talk of a Grand National entry for the 2017 race.
His season has been interrupted by sarcoids - especially a painful sarcoid under his nearside fore-leg that kept opening up. (Sarcoids are common skin tumour on horses.)
The condition is now cured and Nicholls said: "He looks great at the moment. He had a racecourse gallop last week at Wincanton and we have been cracking on with him."
After you have won money on all next Saturday's Newbury races, then rest assured that Silviniaco Conti looked in tip-top shape for his Ascot outing a week later.