Over the past few years Paul Nicholls has dominated the National Hunt game winning just about every big race there is apart from the Grand National. A win at Aintree has so far eluded Nicholls which is a surprise but he is relatively young so he will have many more attempts at trying to take the win at Aintree. Nicholls has been crowned Champion Trainer every season since 2005/06 and that dominance shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon with the Grand National the last big aim for the trainer.
Nicholls had a decent career as a Jockey but it is as a trainer where he has excelled over recent years. The Ditcheat Trainer has had stable stars like Kauto Star, Denman, Big Bucks and Master Minded who have raised the profile of the yard with glory in the big Cheltenham Festival races. In particular the success of Kauto Star and Denman has done wonders for the career of Paul Nicholls, their popularity and success has managed to capture the imagination of the public and made him the most famous trainer in the game at the moment.
While Nicholls has not tasted success in the Grand National, he has come close on a number of occasions in the past few years. In 2009 he trained My Will to finish third in the race with Ruby Walsh on board while he was also placed with the excellent Big Fella Thanks in 2010. It was Royal Auclair though who came the closest to giving Paul Nicholls Grand National success when he finished second behind the National legend Hedgehunter, he was not able to live with the winner but still ran a big race for the Ditcheat team.
