Nicholls takes pride in Skelton achievements

Paul Nicholls was always confident his former assistant Dan Skelton would become champion trainer as he prepares to take on his one-time apprentice for top honours again this season.

Skelton was Nicholls' right-hand man at Ditcheat for nine years between 2004 and 2013 before taking up the reins on his own at Lodge Hill in Warwickshire 13 years ago.

After a couple of near-misses when denied by Willie Mullins, Skelton was crowned champion for the first time last season, something his old boss always expected to come to fruition.

“He was always going to be champion trainer one time, ultimately he's built up a fantastically huge operation,” said Nicholls.

“He's massively involved with his dad (Nick), Harry (brother) is a big part of that team. They're a great team and he's done very well – he's obviously become a pain in the backside, but I'm proud of what he's achieved.

“I probably haven't got the numbers to challenge him. I've won 14 championships and all I want to do is keep training winners and training good horses. It'd be hard to do that.

“I think Dan will be hard to beat by anyone in the next few years. Ultimately someone will come along, but Dan's going to train a huge number of horses.

“He seems to have the best team of horses, a bit like Willie has in Ireland, so he's going to be hard to beat.”

The Manor Farm handler is thrilled with his team for the upcoming campaign and has big aspirations for his current crop away from the obvious big guns of Caldwell Potter, No Drama This End and Regent's Stroll.

“We've got about 110 horses in work, a lot of nice young horses, a nice mix of some older horses, some nice handicappers and nice chasers,” said the Betfair ambassador.

“It's always exciting times at this time of year. You're always dreaming of what you might have and at this time of year, all your geese are swans until they run and they're all unbeaten. We've got some lovely young horses, which is quite exciting.”

Tutti Quanti made giant strides over hurdles last year, winning two big prizes at Newbury before being coming up short after being supplemented for the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham in March.

However, he was still in front when falling two flights from home in the Scottish Champion Hurdle on his most recent outing and will shortly head over fences.

“Tutti Quanti has done a lot of schooling already,” said Nicholls. “We've put in a new all-weather schooling surface and he's had three schools over fences and actually jumped very well.

“I did wonder if it might be an issue with him, but he has jumped well. He could go to Ffos Las (on Wednesday) if there's some rain and we're happy.

“Hopefully he's going to be a really exciting novice chaser.”

Minella Yoga has won three of his five starts over hurdles to date and Nicholls has yet to make firm plans for the four-year-old, adding: “Minella Yoga is a very nice horse, only four. He could go chasing, but he could go chasing in a year's time.

“I think at the moment we may look at going to Ascot towards the end of this month, if it rains, and I'd like to run him in the Gerry Feilden at Newbury, the race Tutti won last year. If that went well, we could possibly go for the William Hill Handicap Hurdle at Newbury in February.

“The Gerry Feilden would tell us because if he's not quite at that level, we could go chasing after that, but he's on the same sort of mark as Tutti Quanti was a year ago, and I could see him being a mirror of him in a lot of ways.”

Isaac Des Obeaux has Welsh Grand National ambitions and could potentially have a tilt at the big one at Aintree in the spring, should the eight-year-old impress during the intervening period.

Nicholls said: “It's the Welsh Grand National for him. The last few years the ground's been pretty decent at Chepstow, but we're due for a wet ground one, aren't we?

“I don't know quite where we will start him. I might have to run him over three miles somewhere just to get a run in to him, but we'll see once there's cut in the ground.

“He will have an entry in the Grand National at Aintree. We'll make a plan at another time to see where he's going, but if the ground was soft at Aintree, I'd half fancy him to run very well.”

:: Paul Nicholls was speaking at Betfair's launch of the new horse racing jumps season. Everyone's got an opinion. Back yours at Betfair.