Paul Nicholls: Topofthegame strikes me as an ideal Gold Cup horse

It has been ten years since Paul Nicholls last won the Cheltenham Gold Cup but he believes he has the ideal candidate in Topofthegame.

The champion trainer revealed last season's RSA winner will be aimed at the Ladbrokes Trophy at Newbury on November 30 and believes the seven-year-old could have a "serious chance" at the Festival.

“He strikes me as an ideal Gold Cup horse,” Nicholls said. “We’ll train him with that race in mind. He travels beautifully, jumps and stays, and those are the qualities you need.”

The unexposed stayer, who is a general 10-1 shot to land the Cheltenham showpiece, looks to have done exceptionally well over the summer, and the trainer added: “We had a few little problems with him last season and he’s not been easy to train.

"Obviously it wasn’t the plan to take him to the festival without a win over fences under his belt, but we just ran out of time. He beat Santini fair and square there, and the third horse has since boosted the form, so the first three at Cheltenham all look top-class.

“And look at his earlier form. Any horse capable of giving Defi Du Seuil the best part of 25 lengths start, as Topofthegame did at Exeter, and then getting within four lengths of him, must be a serious horse.”

Credit: David Cramphorn

Nicholls, speaking at his annual owners' day on Sunday, said: “The one day I want him at his very best this season will be Gold Cup day in March. I’ll also aim to get him spot-on for his first big objective, the Ladbrokes Trophy.

“As a trial for Newbury on November 30, we’ve got three options. Because he didn’t lose his maiden status until March, he remains a novice over fences until November 1, so we could go for a novice chase at Chepstow next month if he’s ready.

"Alternatively, there’s the intermediate chase at Newton Abbot we won with Strong Flow before he went on to land what was then the Hennessy, or there’s the Future Stars Chase at Sandown.”

Betfair Nicholls specials

Nicholls 6-4 to win a record 11th King George in 2019
Trainers' title: 4-6 Paul Nicholls, 5-4 Nicky Henderson
Nicholls 15-8 to train two or more 2020 Cheltenham Festival winners
Nicholls 9-4 to train 150 or more winners in the 2019-20 season
Nicholls 9-2 to train the winner of the 2020 Cheltenham Gold Cup

While Nicholls considers Topofthegame to be his number one Gold Cup hope, the trainer said he is expecting further improvement from last season’s Gold Cup fifth Clan Des Obeaux, who is a general 16-1.

“He was bang there jumping the last in March, but he didn’t quite get up the hill," he said. "As soon as the rain arrived on the morning of the race it had me worried. But if we go back there next spring, on different ground, who knows?”

Clan Des Obeaux had earlier put up a career-best performance when winning the King George and Nicholls added: “All roads in the first half of the season will lead back to Kempton on Boxing Day. For his first run we’re aiming to take him to Down Royal for the JNwine Champion Chase on November 2. Although he’s won going both ways, his best form has come going right-handed, so Down Royal should be ideal.”

Clan Des Obeaux paraded at Paul Nicholls' owners' open dayCredit: Tracy Roberts

Nicholls would love nothing more than to win another Cheltenham Gold Cup, as he would draw level with the legendary Tom Dreaper, who sent out five winners of the race between 1946 and 1968.

The trainer has an embarrassment of riches in the staying chase department and the remarkable Frodon could enter the Gold Cup mix, although he will more likely bid to win another Ryanair, for which he is available at a general 14-1.

The seven-year-old's glorious association with Bryony Frost lit up last season from October to March. Their brilliant victories in the Old Roan, Caspian Caviar Gold Cup, Cotswold Chase and Ryanair led to ecstatic scenes every time and captured the imagination of a wider audience, to the extent Frost has become one of the most recognisable faces in racing after Frankie Dettori.

Onlookers at Ditcheat on Sunday were anxious to learn where the Frodon-Frost show is likely to resume, and the trainer revealed: “He’ll go back to Aintree on October 27 for the Old Roan Chase again. His rating of 169 is 11lb higher than when he won it last year, so it won’t be easy giving weight away, but at least it’s a limited handicap.

"Aintree fits in nicely as the race I think is made for him is the Betfair Chase four weeks later. He’ll love the flat track at Haydock and the easy-ish three miles there, so that’s a big first-half target for him.”

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