Rich Ricci nominates big target for next season after Gaelic Warrior proves his class in Oaksey Chase

Rich Ricci is looking forward to Gaelic Warrior tackling the King George VI Chase at Kempton after the four-time Grade 1 winner outclassed his rivals in the bet365 Oaksey Chase.

An impressive winner of the 3m1f Aintree Bowl 23 days earlier, Gaelic Warrior took the drop in trip in his stride as he led home stablemate Appreciate It under Paul Townend.

"He's a funny old fella," said Ricci. "I'd have loved to have had a crack at the Gold Cup at Punchestown next week, but we're big supporters of Willie Mullins and decided to come here to help him in his pursuit of the title.

"I'm not sure he's a Cheltenham Gold Cup horse but he looks to me like a King George horse. Willie thinks the world of him over any trip and, to me, he's a stayer on anything other than soft or heavy ground, so I imagine the King George will be the target.

"When he shows up he's absolutely brilliant and hopefully he has an uneventful summer and autumn and goes into next season firing on all cylinders."

Nicholls strikes

Paul Nicholls rarely leaves the final day of the season empty-handed and he kept up tradition as Blueking D'Oroux edged out Salver and Kitzbuhel in the Grade 2 bet365 Select Hurdle.

More used to being involved in the tussle for the title on the final day, the 14-time champion trainer is looking forward to getting back in the championship mix next season

"Hopefully next season we've got some really smart young horses coming through and we're going to have a little bit of a thin out as well," said Nicholls. "We all have ups and downs but the spring has been good and we've still had a good season."

Looking forward with Blueking D'Oroux, he added: "He loves good ground and I thought he'd go well today. This was the perfect race before he goes chasing. He'll be a better chaser than he was a hurdler. He jumps well and stays nicely, so he'll be a fun horse.

"He's the mirror of Pic D'Orhy and you'd be happy if he turns out like him."

Moore ends on a high

Gary Moore cursed the jumps season coming to an end as he made hay in the first two races.

It has been a tough first season with his son Josh on the training licence but the stable finished on a high with Give It To Me Oj and Mark Of Gold landing a 251-1 double.

"We've made no secret of the fact we've had a moderate season and it's a shame it's going to end now," said Moore snr. "It was one of those things earlier in the season. The horses were out of form and weren't scoping clean and we probably a few bad horses as well."

Give It To Me Oj and Mark Of Gold both carried top weight to victory and the former could be in for a Flat campaign in the summer.

"I was worried that he wasn't very well handicapped after Liverpool and now he's won two races in a week," said the trainer. "He's always been a nice horse and has exceeded all expectations today. For a four-year-old to carry 12 stone, it's a very good performance.

"I want to give him a break now but he could go back to the Flat, where he's well handicapped. He'll stick to hurdles when he goes jumping again. His handicap mark will dictate where he goes."

Commenting on Mark Of Gold, who, like Give It To Me Oj, was partnered by Caoilin Quinn, Moore said: "He's an amazing horse owned by an amazing bunch of people. He and Caoilin get on so well, they're made for each other. Caoilin dares him and the horse comes for it."

The Jockey Club reported that more than 10,000 people attended the season finale, the largest crowd since the coronavirus pandemic.

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