Nicholls ahead of summer schedule as Bagad obliges in style

In May Paul Nicholls set himself a target of 20 winners by October. Such has been the momentum this summer of the champion trainer that he hit that figure over two months ahead of schedule after Bagad Bihoue took the honours in the 2m5½f maiden hurdle.

He said: "We couldn't be happier with the way things have gone with the horses we decided to send on a summer campaign - let's be fair, it makes sense these days to keep the better-ground horses for this time of year as the prize-money has improved so much over the seasons at many courses.

Nicholls added: "I was only joking with my former assistant Dan Skelton the other day that we were having a better run than him at present - and then he banged in the two big winners of the valuable races at Market Rasen on Saturday, and is not that far behind us in the trainers' table as a result."