Paul Nicholls: fired by passion and an insatiable hunger to be the best
Julian Muscat on the man who has never hidden his raw ambition
They said it would never happen again. All those mind-boggling landmarks set by Martin Pipe would stand for all time, yet one man has them squarely in his sights.
Perhaps inevitably, he would emerge from the debris of Pipe’s triumphal march. Like a shrub reborn after a forest fire, he has morphed from survival mode into the king of the jungle. It has been a long and tumultuous journey but Paul Nicholls now stands alone.
He has been champion trainer in Britain for 11 of the last 14 seasons. There are no big-race holes in his resume and there is further bad news for those who pursue him as he once pursued Pipe. Nicholls is in thrall to a magic number that will drive him forward indefinitely. He yearns to be the first jumps trainer to reach 4,000 career winners.
Read the full story
Read award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing, with exclusive news, interviews, columns, investigations, stable tours and subscriber-only emails.
Subscribe to unlock
- Racing Post digital newspaper (worth over £100 per month)
- Award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing
- Expert tips from the likes of Tom Segal and Paul Kealy
- Replays and results analysis from all UK and Irish racecourses
- Form study tools including the Pro Card and Horse Tracker
- Extensive archive of statistics covering horses, trainers, jockeys, owners, pedigree and sales data
Already a subscriber?Log in
Published on 17 February 2020inFeatures
Last updated 16:54, 3 March 2020
- Government says it is working 'at pace' to have white paper measures in force by the summer
- 'The only thing you can do is lie fallow and regroup' - Meades to return with scaled-back operation following blank period
- The Gambling Commission has launched its new corporate strategy - but what are the key points?
- 'It was tragic it happened to Paddy but it was a good thing for the jockeys who followed - good came out of bad'
- Acquisitions, exits and retail resilience - what we learned from Flutter and 888's results
- Government says it is working 'at pace' to have white paper measures in force by the summer
- 'The only thing you can do is lie fallow and regroup' - Meades to return with scaled-back operation following blank period
- The Gambling Commission has launched its new corporate strategy - but what are the key points?
- 'It was tragic it happened to Paddy but it was a good thing for the jockeys who followed - good came out of bad'
- Acquisitions, exits and retail resilience - what we learned from Flutter and 888's results