'We are lucky to have someone as plucky as Nicholls in this game'

I can't have been the only one who thought, 'Here we go again,' when Paul Nicholls drew comparisons between Denman and Bravemansgame after the latter won a four-runner beginners' chase at Newton Abbot.

Don't get me wrong, Bravemansgame was good and the form has since been boosted, but here was a horse who was run over by Bob Olinger at Cheltenham last season after being subject to similar hype.

For a man who drew a blank at last season's Cheltenham Festival, I couldn't help but think Nicholls was getting ahead of himself somewhat after what was effectively a brilliant opportunity for Bravemansgame to get off the mark over fences that day at Newton Abbot.