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.
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.
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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