Caldwell Potter pleasing Nicholls with return imminent

Paul Nicholls will not rush Caldwell Potter back into action but hinted the Betfair Chase could be his stable star’s intended return, with the possibility of reaching the Gold Cup in the spring.

Caldwell Potter – owned by a group which includes Sir Alex Ferguson – missed the whole of last season due to injury and has not been seen on track since landing the Mildmay Novices’ Chase at Aintree in April 2025, having won at the Cheltenham Festival previously.

The Ditcheat handler says all the eight-year-old’s problems are behind him and a trip to Haydock on November 21 appears to be where he will make his long-awaited reappearance.

“He’s well. He came back in the middle of July, he obviously missed all last year with an injury and I’m not in a hurry to get him ready,” Nicholls said.

“So as I say it’ll be the end of November, but he’s already doing plenty of work and he looks great.

“All his problems at the moment are behind him. Ultimately the best races for him will be in the spring. Something like the Cotswold Chase possibly, Gold Cup and Aintree – all those type of races – if he stays three miles.

“We’ve got to find that out. I know he won at Aintree over three-one, but that doesn’t conclusively tell you he’s a proper stayer. We can always drop back in trip if need be.

“Where I start him is an issue because he needs to go left-handed. I’m not sure I want to run him in a handicap so that takes me to the Betfair Chase, which I like having a runner in.

“So it’s a starting point for him if we can get there and then we can progress afterwards.”

He added: “We might have to enter him at Leopardstown or something and I think that is the level he’s going to have to compete at. You might want a couple of runs, a bit more experience and then hopefully in the spring we’ll see the best of him.”

Another big hopeful for the Manor Farm handler is No Drama This End, who will go novice chasing this campaign.

“He’s just ticking over at the moment really. Again, he’s one of those that you know you’re not going to get soft ground for at the minute, so you want to not rush,” said the Betfair ambassador.

“Obviously he’s going novice chasing, but where I start I don’t know. I’d love a small beginners’ chase somewhere to get some experience, but any of the tracks I sort of had in mind, like Exeter at the moment, that’s not going to happen.

“There’s the John Francome at Newbury, a track he’s run well at before, there’s Sandown, a nice three-mile novice chase at the Tingle Creek meeting, and then Kempton over Christmas – those are the sort of races we’re looking at.

“I think we’re all going to have to change plans a little bit because of the weather, but I think he’s hopefully going to be a really exciting novice chaser, especially over a trip.”

Regent’s Stroll is described as an “exciting chaser” as Nicholls’ picks out the lightly-raced seven-year-old as his one to watch.

“I think Regent’s Stroll is a very nice horse. He’s been a bit of a work in progress, he’s been keen and he’s had his wind done, which has helped him mentally quite a lot to be honest with you,” he added.

“I’ve always thought he was a high-class chaser, he ran some good races last year and definitely wants a trip.

“So he’s the obvious second-season chaser for the Coral Gold Cup, and I’d love to run him somewhere beforehand if I can, the Colin Parker (at Carlisle) might suit.

“He is actually eligible for graduation chases because he’s only won the one. I don’t think there’s too many suitable before Newbury and we’ve won the Coral Gold Cup with horses first time out on several occasions.

“If it has to be, it’ll have to be, but I can see him being an ideal horse for that and I think he is an exciting chaser. The best is yet to come.”