Is Caldwell Potter going to come good for Paul Nicholls?

A hefty price tag can weigh down on any sporting performer, many footballers down the years can attest to this fact, and Caldwell Potter is the current jumps racing example of a horse enduring lean times after a big-money transfer deal.

That move came as a result of a decision from former owners Andy and Gemma Brown, who announced last year that they were to sell their entire string that had run under the Caldwell Construction banner.

When that dispersal sale took place, Caldwell Potter was the star attraction among 29 lots to go under the hammer, having already shown top-level form over obstacles for Gordon Elliott in Ireland.

He fetched a stunning €740,000 when purchased by a syndicate including former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and thus he became the most expensive National Hunt horse ever sold at public auction.

With that price tag comes expectation and, so far, it's fair to say Caldwell Potter has not lived up to the billing since starting out with 14-time British champion trainer Paul Nicholls.

All is not lost, however, and the Ditcheat supremo is eyeing the Cheltenham Festival, albeit with expectations perhaps slightly lowered. Can Caldwell Potter get his career back on track in the Cotswolds?

Carlisle win a false dawn

Caldwell Potter signed off for Gordon Elliott by winning the Grade 1 Paddy Power Future Champions Novice Hurdle at Leopardstown in December 2023.

After being sold, his new connections opted to skip the spring festivals in 2024, ensuring it was as recently as December before he debuted for the syndicate.

He looked good in a Carlisle novices' chase over 2m on soft ground, justifying cramped odds as he saw off four rivals, but he has since been beaten at Cheltenham (2m4½f) and Windsor (2m) in Grade 2 contests either side of Christmas.

They were both small field affairs and Caldwell Potter was competitive but ultimately unsuccessful. It means that, for now, lofty Cheltenham ambitions have been shelved.

Nicholls staying faithful for the Festival

Paul Nicholls has seen and done enough in the racing game to know that all is certainly not lost.

The Ditcheat supremo has been eager to play down expectations attached to Caldwell Potter's price tag and has insisted he'll do his share of winning in time.

He has earmarked the new Jack Richards Novices' Limited Handicap Chase at the Cheltenham Festival for Caldwell Potter, a Grade 2 over the intermediate trip of just over two-and-a-half-miles.

The handicapper has allotted him a mark of 146 and Nicholls believes that under the right conditions, it could be a contest tailor-made for his inmate.

"I think Caldwell Potter, a Grade 1 hurdles winner, will run well in the novice handicap chase on Thursday," he told the Racing Post. "He's dropped to a decent mark of 146, he's got experience on the course and if there's a bit of rain about — making it good to soft or softer — I could see him being in the mix."

One to watch at Cheltenham

It's hard to disagree with Nicholls' assessment of Caldwell Potter. His ability was clearly hinted at as a novice over timber and his current handicap mark looks entirely fair.

The small-field affairs in which he was beaten at Cheltenham and Windsor were perhaps not conducive to seeing him at his best.

He has good credentials from his hurdles days in Ireland racing in bigger fields and a career-best at Cheltenham wouldn't be a massive shock.

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