'Some of my rivals peak from the word go - I prefer to play the longer game'

The champion trainer is warming up nicely with a promise of much more to come. With 11 winners in October you can’t say it’s been a slow start for Paul Nicholls, but neither has he raced out of the blocks like he did in 2016 and 2017.

“I’ve never known a start to a season quite like this one,” says the 11-time title holder. “The horses have held on to their condition and never taken so long to get fit. Some of them have had racecourse gallops to bring them on, but there’s only so much you can do at home and in the end you have to give them a run – and some of them have needed it.”

Nicholls offers another reason for the quieter start: “Some of my younger rivals bring theirs to peak fitness from the word go nowadays, whereas I prefer to play the longer game. We have to remember, it’s a long season and I’m in less of a hurry than I used to be at this time of year.”