Horse Racing: Paul Nicholls anticipates further progress for Zarkandar
Trainer Paul Nicholls is firm in his belief that Zarkandar is only headed down the road of further improvement, just after said horse gave an impressive winning performance for the his introduction in the horseracing business in the TheBettingSite.com Adonis
Hurdle, which took place at Kempton on Saturday.
Jointly owned by Chris Giles and Jared Sullivan, Zarkandar is as big as 9-1 in his odds with Sportingbet for the JCB Triumph Hurdle, which is to be a part of the Cheltenham Festival and will take place next month. Zarkandar’s trainer, Nicholls holds the
opinion that the horse will only gain from both the better ground and an increased scope for experience. He believes that the Hurdle will also be a chance for him to use his debut win as a guide.
Nicholls was rather surprised by Zarkandar’s debut victory, according to what he wrote in his blog on Betfair. The trainer elaborates that although the horse’s performance was extremely satisfying during practice sessions at home, he did not expect the win
since Zarkandar seriously lacked the time and experience.
However, it does not mar the fact that the trainer was indeed delighted and immensely proud of the first-timer. In his own words, Nicholls was rather “impressed, especially by the decent time on the ground” shown by the four-year-old. About Zarkandar’s future
plans, Nicholls had written in his post that he will head straight on to the Triumph Hurdle, where he believes the ground will suit the horse better although a lot of training time was forgone in favour of participation at Kempton.
Nicholls is also hopeful in entering racehorse Brampour, along with Zarkandar, in the Triumph Hurdle but will only finalise a decision on Sam Winner’s participation after he has discussed the matter with the horse’s owner, Angela Yeoman.
Sam Winner has not taken part in a meet since he was placed fourth in the Coral Future Champions Finale Juvenile Hurdle at Chepstow in December, but is now considering the Stan James Supreme Novices’ Hurdle as a backup choice; the Sunday race for which the
horse’s odds have been redone to 20-1 from 25 by Blue Square and 888 Sport.
Tags: