Paul Nicholls Columm on betfair

[Woodie]

Can someone post this up every week in here from now on if it's as easy as cop and paste please? Don't have a betfair account anymore so can't access it!

[Aykay1]

Re: Paul Nicholls Columm on betfair Why dont you sign up with Betfair, it will only take a couple of minutes. Here is today's anyway :ok Cheltenham Betting: Paul Nicholls on his Saturday runners Weekend Runners / Paul Nicholls / 10 December 2010 / 1 Comments Silviniaco Conti is bidding for his fourth straight win - but can he master Cheltenham's undulations?

" I am very happy with Silviniaco Conti, but giving 4lb to the likes of Menorah and Cue Card clearly won’t be easy. The only doubt in my mind about him is that he has had three quick runs already, but let’s see what we have got here."

There's a tremendous day of racing in store at the spiritual home of jumps racing with Paul Nicholls once again responsible for many of the top horses in action. Read the exclusive views of Paul on his top runners here 11:40, Cheltenham Woolcombe Folly: Won at Doncaster and Cheltenham last season either side of a disappointing run in the Arkle, but we fancied him to go well on his reappearance at Ascot and he didn't let us down, winning by five lengths. The handicapper has raised him 12lb, which is quite harsh but unfortunately all too normal these days with those types of winners - the handicapper certainly doesn't err on the side of caution. This is a very competitive race but one thing in his favour is that I think that he will be better off going left-handed here. And Ryan now rides and takes off a handy 5lb. 12:10, Cheltenham Sam Winner: I see Timeform noted that his impressive Cheltenham win showed a "level of form actually good enough to win an average renewal of the Triumph". Well, the good news is that I think he may have improved at home since. Certainly, the way in which he worked with American Trilogy on Thursday morning suggests that may be the case. But they have to do it on the track and there are some decent horses in opposition here - for example, we have to give a stone to A Media Luz, third favourite for the Triumph and who last ran in the French Oaks. But if everything goes to plan, he will come back to Cheltenham in January and then on to the Triumph. 12:45, Cheltenham Picture This: Beat impressive recent Newbury winner Barafundle by six lengths in a Haydock handicap hurdle in May and finished a good second on his chase debut over course and distance in October, where he may well have won had he jumped more fluently. This is a hot race with the likes of Time For Rupert in opposition and he is up against it in this company. But this is all good experience for his long term target, the National Hunt Chase at the Festival. Picture This has been announced as a NON-RUNNER. 13:20, Cheltenham Celestial Halo: Goes back to hurdling after a disastrous attempt at chasing. Clearly was a top class performer over the small obstacles, and this trip should be ideal. However, I suspect he will need this run to sharpen him up and to get some confidence back. He was hesitant over his hurdles at home when we switched him from fences, tending to be very careful. But he has got better under Harry's schooling. I was going to take it easy with him for a while, but he didn't have a hard race at Newbury and came out of the race bucking and squealing, so we are running here. You will note that I have put blinkers on him for the first time, to sharpen up his jumping; we schooled him in them this morning. 13:55, Cheltenham Twist Magic will remain in the race until such time that Huntingdon is guaranteed to be on. The Peterborough Chase is the plan, but if there is still any doubt about Huntingdon on Saturday morning, then he will be run here. His record at the track clearly isn't great, but I have outlined his current form and well-being in the Huntingdon race assessment. Master Minded is clearly our number one hope in the race. He won really well at Ascot but there is still a niggling doubt in the back of my mind that I want to see him put in two such performances in a row, especially after his in-and-out runs last season. But everything he is showing me at home now suggests that he is back to his best, the way he looks and the way he is working - and if he is, then he clearly has a massive chance. He has worked brilliantly with Poquelin this week. This is a good race though, and I think a fresh Petit Robin and Gauvain may be our biggest threats. 14:30, Cheltenham Poquelin beat Razor Royale by seven lengths in this race last year and has paid for his consistency ever since. However, the handicapper has given him a real chance here by dropping him a whole 1lb! He looks sure to run his usual honest race though, the fact that this raced is run on the New course is a positive, and Ian's 5lb claim helps. He comes into this race with a better chance than he did in the Paddy Power. It will be interesting to see how Robinson Collonges runs off a mark of 148 here. To me, he is badly handicapped on what he has achieved so far and that is underlined by the fact that he runs off the same mark as Dave's Dream, an 8 length winner at the last meeting here. So he has got it all to do. But this is a 150k race (the Feltham is only 50k or so), so he takes his chance, is clearly an exciting horse of some potential and could be anything - he was tanking along and would have beaten Wishfull Thinking well at Wincanton - and his wide-margin wins either side in modest company were pleasing. He will love the good ground, too. 15:05, Cheltenham Silviniaco Conti: One of the horses that has surprised me most in recent seasons, in that the improvement he has shown on the track in such a short space of time is astounding. He does so little at home that we took him to Bangor first time out to see what we had (it could have been very little!), but we are getting to know now and the ease with which he travelled and won at Ascot last time was very impressive. But this race will tell us the time of day with him - I would have laughed at you if you said to me at the start of the season that he would be running in this race, let alone as one of the favourites - and whether he is a Champion Hurdle horse. I am very happy with him, but giving 4lb to the likes of Menorah and Cue Card clearly won't be easy. The only doubt in my mind about him is that he has had three quick runs already, but let's see what we have got here. 15:40, Cheltenham Join Together: A point to point winner who pleased me when running a nice third to Court In Motion at Exeter first time out and we are 7lb better off for a three length beating from the winner here. He would have improved from that first run, and is a decent chasing prospect. Has a definite chance in a hot race here. So, in summary, it should be a great weekend and my three best chances for winners are... Master Minded Sam Winner Twist Magic (provided he runs in the Peterborough on Sunday)