Paul Nicholls and the midnight epiphany that turned a flop into a legend

Paul Nicholls has said the best decision of his career was one that came to him when he should have been asleep – and was described as "bonkers" at the time by the owner of the horse in question.

The 11-time champion trainer was talking to the Racing Post for a special 'Inside the mind of Paul Nicholls' feature in Sunday's newspaper, in which he goes into great detail about how he mapped out the careers of all-time greats like Kauto Star and Big Buck's.

And it was Big Buck's who occupied many of Nicholls' thoughts at that time until a flash of midnight inspiration.

"My God, we did a lot of thinking about Big Buck's," he said.

Big Buck's went on to win four World Hurdles for Nicholls and Andy Stewart (left) after the change of planCredit: Edward Whitaker

"I know he won at Aintree as a novice chaser, but he was absolutely hopeless over fences. After he lost Sam [Thomas] in the Hennessy, I thought to myself: 'What are we going to do?' If he was going to be a superstar I was certain he needed Ruby [Walsh] riding him. With no disrespect to Sam, Big Buck's had to have Ruby's style and patience, but there was no way we could pursue the Gold Cup route for Big Buck's while Kauto Star was around because Ruby was never going to get off Kauto.

"I felt we had to try something different. What we should do came to me in the middle of the night. I contacted Andy [Stewart, owner] the next morning and said if Big Buck's was going to stay over fences he needed Ruby, and as that wasn't going to happen, why not run him over hurdles? Andy then came out with the famous line: 'Well, I think you're bonkers, but you're the boss.'"

The career of Big Buck's

Hurdles

33 starts
20 wins
178 top Racing Post Rating

£1,245,512 prize-money

Chases

7 starts
3 wins
164 top RPR

£63,544 prize-money

Big Buck's went on to win the World Hurdle four times, forming part of a golden era for Nicholls with Kauto Star, Denman and Master Minded all in the yard at the same time – but the success came at a price.

"I was so lucky to have all those amazing horses, but it brought an immense amount of pressure," he said. "Towards the end of that great era, I did feel for a minute as though I'd had enough of it all, particularly following the bust-up with Clive Smith and when Kauto left the yard to join Laura Collett. It all took a toll and I had a little spell when I may have suffered from a bit of depression."

Read more:

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'He'd have eaten Arkle' - Ted Walsh reveals the greatest horse he ever saw

John Oxx fears for racing's future if training doesn't become viable again

Richard Johnson: Anzum win was crucial - but the big ones mean so much more now

'How many owners are we going to lose?' - Mark Johnston on fears for the future

Read more from Inside the mind of Paul Nicholls in the Big Read, available to members from 6pm on Saturday or in Sunday's Racing Post newspaper. Join Members' Club here.