Nicholls' Weekend Runners: The Timeform Review

A quiet weekend for Paul and just the one winner, with Hold Fast scoring well at Sandown on Saturday afternoon...

Hold Fast (now Timeform rated 147+) got Nicholls off to the best possible start on Saturday afternoon at Sandown when landing the 2m handicap chase by seven lengths. Hold Fast looked much fitter for his seasonal reappearance on Saturday and the extra sharpness told in a race where the eight-year-old gelding travelled well for much of the way before quickening clear in the closing stages. He will have to improve again if he is to eventually step out of handicap company, but his lightly-raced profile suggests this could be a realistic possibility further down the line. For now, however, he remains one to look out for next time.

Prospect Wells (143) was disappointing in the following race, finishing fourth of five in the Grade 1 Tolworth Hurdle. He failed to race with any of his usual zest and finished twenty lengths behind Captain Conan. It is worth noting, however, that the race was something of an afterthought, entered only when the race failed to fill, and Prospect Wells will be seen in a better light later in the season.

Neptune Collonges (161) and The Knoxs (139c) could manage no better than second place between them in the penultimate race on the Sandown card, the former finishing runner-up under an excellent Ruby Walsh ride despite seeming disinterested from some way out. The Knoxs, on the other hand, stopped very quickly after forcing the pace in the early stages, and it looked as though something may have been physically wrong with the nine-year-old gelding who could remain well handicapped in the chasing sphere.

Doeslessthanme (134) did best of the Nicholls runners at Wincanton on Saturday, finishing a nine-length second behind Webberys Dream in a 2m5f novices' chase. Doeslessthanme looked as though he may challenge the eventual winner approaching three out before failing to convince with his finishing effort and, whilst the trip may have stretched his stamina, there is a possibility that he isn't entirely straightforward.

Pasco (140) and No Loose Change (118) had both finished in third place earlier on the card, the former some 33 lengths behind Consigliere in a handicap chase, whilst the latter finished a dozen lengths adrift of Star of Angels.

Pasco seems an habitual weak-finisher these days and, whilst Saturday's testing ground may have exaggerated his poor finishing effort, he once again found less than seemed likely when put under pressure in the closing stages. With that attribute, he seems unlikely to win handicaps anytime soon off of his current mark and he looks difficult to place, at least for the time being.

No Loose Change, it has to be said, shaped better than his defeat suggests, looking a threat from some way out before eventually paying for racing close up with the pace in the early stages. His third at Hereford on his penultimate start remains strong form and he looks capable of winning a handicap off of his current mark sooner rather than later, market support in Saturday's contest probably testament to this opinion.

Timeform / 9 Jan 2012