Nicholls Talks of Plans

Speaking on Channel 4's Morning Line, Paul Nicholls outlined plans for his star chasers. He began by giving his thoughts on Denman.

The Champion trainer said: "Going right-handed at Kempton is not ideal, obviously, but the most important thing is that we get a run into him. We are not going to make excuses for him, he has to perform well today, whether it is right-handed or left-handed to be honest. We just need to get that run into him, a month before the big race. We have to take that chance.

"There has been absolutely nothing amiss at all since his problem, he has done his work well, he worked nicely at Wincanton last week, no problems at all. The only thing is that he is never one of those flashy horses at home, he never shows a lot at home, he only ever really performs at a high level on the track, so until he gets there today and performs, we're not going to really know. Health-wise and fitness-wise I couldn't do any more.

"For Neptune Collonges the Hennessy Gold Cup at Leopardstown is a possibility but there is also Wincanton next Saturday, for the CGA Chase, which he won last year, we'll look at that as well.

"Kauto Star is in fine form, working away and we're going to go straight for the races we said before. He is going to go straight to Cheltenham now.

"Master Minded will go straight to Cheltenham as well. We don't need to run him again. He is in fine form and I couldn't be more pleased with him."

Nicholls concluded by saying: "Today is a big day obviously. Coming back from a problem, we need to see him (Denman) perform at a high level again. None of us really know that until he runs today. It is a big day for everyone, after which we'll all know a lot more." (EM)