Nicholls quick off the mark to secure the name Onethreefivenotout after Test win

Champion jumps trainer Paul Nicholls was quick off the mark after England's unlikely victory in the third Ashes Test at Headingley on Sunday, securing the right to name a horse 'Onethreefivenotout' following the heroics of Ben Stokes.

England all-rounder Stokes was the hero at Headingley after an unbeaten knock of 135 helped England level the series with Australia, having looking dead and buried after the first innings and Nicholls was quick to seize the naming opportunity.

The trainer explained: "Iain Turner, who is [owner] Max McNeill's racing manager, tries to be a bit sharp [with his names] and after the world cup he got Champagne Superover, so I thought 'I'm going to get in here straight away'.

"It was an obvious name and it was 18 letters, which is the maximum characters you can have for a name and it just fit in perfectly."

He added: "I made sure to reserve it literally two seconds after the last ball. Cricket is an amazing sport and it was a great match. I haven't decided on the horse yet but I just thought it would make a great name. I was quick out of the blocks with it and I got lucky I reckon."

True to form, the McNeill family tweeted their wish to have a horse named in honour of Sunday's nail-biter, with Nicholls - in good humour - suggesting they could yet own Onethreefivenotout should they be willing to buy the horse in question when named.

The team at Carlisle racecourse were also quick out of the blocks, honouring local hero Stokes by offering free entry to Thursday's meeting for anyone with Ben or Stokes in their name.

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