‘I knew what I was doing’ – Paul Nicholls’ sole Cheltenham punt is 14/1 from 25/1

Leading British trainer Paul Nicholls has had a below-par season by his own exceptional standards but there are no signs that 14-time champion trainer is throwing in the towel. Not much of a betting man, the Ditcheat handler has only had one 25/1 ante-post Cheltenham Festival bet so far this year.

The horse in question has been subject to some support since, as 14/1 is the best available price at time of writing. Check out our free tips page for daily content across British and Irish racing, where you can find our ante-post Cheltenham selections.

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‘I backed him quite a while back and he’s 14/1 now’

Shearer is set to line up in the St. James’s Place Festival Challenge Cup Open Hunters’ Chase, after qualifying with two hunter chase successes this winter. The first of those came in particularly impressive style at Ffos Las, as it was his first run for 601 days.

Nicholls said: “I’ve had one bet this year. I had a little each-way bet on Shearer at 25/1 just because I’ve been looking at that race for a long time. I backed him quite a while back and he’s 14/1 now. I knew what I was doing with that but I don’t think there’s anything else.”

‘The trip is no problem’

Nicholls knows what it takes to win this races, with four successes to his name and he believes Shearer could have the ideal profile for it. He added: “Shearer’s not a 139-rated horse now, he’d be a mid-130s horse, but that’s quite like Pacha Du Polder. I think he’d give Olive a great ride. The trip is no problem, I think he’s probably got enough class but he just needs it all to go right in a race like that.”

Shearer

Analysis

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