Nicholls proud of Denman display Paul Nicholls was justifiably proud after Denman finished third behind Diamond Harry in the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury yesterday. Winner in 2007 and 2009, he was bidding to become the first horse to claim the Hennessy three times and lost nothing in defeat. Nicholls said: "It was a brilliant run, but I have to say massive congratulations to Nick Williams and Daryl Jacob. Nick is a great trainer and Daryl is a brilliant young jockey. "With only 10st I was always a bit nervous of him. "But we're thrilled to bits with Denman and he ran a tremendous race, the ground was just a bit lively for him and he was flat out all the way. "Sam (Thomas) gave him a brilliant ride. That's got to be one of his career-best performances. He'll want a holiday after that, we'll let him get over it and go straight for the Gold Cup. "When he is in that form he is absolutely brilliant. We'll give him every chance to go back there (Cheltenham) with one big chance. He's better off going there off a load of work and mega well. "This is why jumps racing is so popular, the horses keep coming back and races like this are so good for the sport. We'll look forward to March now."
