ON THE BALL
Paul Nicholls snaps up ‘impressive’ new jockey to follow in the footsteps of Harry Cobden and Bryony Frost
History shows he could be the next champion
LEGENDARY trainer Paul Nicholls has snapped up an 'impressive' new jockey for his yard - to follow in the footsteps of Harry Cobden and Bryony Frost.
The Ditcheat boss has a knack for producing top talent at his Somerset base - and it extends beyond the horses.
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Cobden claimed his first champion jumps jockey title last season while trailblazing Frost was the first woman jockey to win a Grade 1 race at Cheltenham Festival.
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While Sean Bowen, Cobden and Frost all won the conditional jockeys championship while riding for Nicholls.
Now Jay Tidball is looking to forge a similar path.
The 24-year-old from Somerset, who so far has 22 career wins, was jocked up on Enrilo in a veterans' chase on the first official day of the new jumps season at Chepstow last Friday.
It didn't go to plan with the ten-year-old being pulled up five fences from home.
But you can probably put a line through it with Nicholls suffering a nightmare opening weekend, in which he failed to find a winner from 12 runners.
The trainer openly said his horses will need another week or two to start hitting top gear - while Cobden's ride on Farland was investigated by stewards.
But even getting the leg up on a former Grade 2 winner in a £30,000 race was a huge vote on confidence in Tidball.
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Speaking of his aims and aspirations, he told the Racing Post: "This season I really want to give it a good go.
";The year before last I had a really good campaign, losing my 7lb claim, and last term I had a few falls and injuries which knocked me back a bit.
"I haven’t set myself any targets, I’ve just come into Paul’s to keep my head down and ride as many winners as I can. I’ll give it a good kick.
"It’s an enjoyable place to work and I’m glad I’m here."
Nicholls' assistant Charlie Davies labelled Tidball 'impressive' in a recent blog post.
He wrote: "Beyond the horses, we've also welcomed some fresh faces to various roles in Team Ditcheat.
"Jay Tidball has joined us as a conditional jockey and has impressed everyone with his natural horsemanship."
Tidball's promotion came as Ben Pauling announced he had a new No1 for the season.
The Cotswolds-based trainer who Harry Redknapp has horses with confirmed Ben Jones will be his main man, with Kielan Woods being demoted.
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