Paul Nicholls is one of the leading trainers on the National Hunt racing circuit, and with the jumps season about to get back underway, with the November Meeting at Cheltenham seen the curtain-raiser, the 59-year-old will be keen to get his hands back on the British jump racing Champion Trainer trophy, an accolade he has won 11 times over the course of the last 15 years or so.

So, with just a matter of a couple of months to go until the 2021-22 season gets underway in Britain, read on as we take a look at four Nicholls-trained horses to watch across the course of the next exciting six months or so.

Frodon

Frodon enjoyed a rather successful season last year, winning three of his five outings. He started the campaign with a victory at Cheltenham, beating West Approach by a length and a half in a GBB Handicap Chase, and after finishing fourth in the Grade 2 Many Clouds Chase at Aintree, jockey Bryony Frost guided him to a surprise victory in the King George VI Chase on Boxing Day at Kempton, winning from a huge 20/1 on sites like Smarkets. It wasn’t to be in the Gold Cup, as he could fare no better than fifth, but the now nine-year-old rounded the season off nicely with a Grade 2 victory in the Oaksey Chase at Sandown. What route Nicholls chooses for Frodon this year will likely depend on his early-season form.

Clan Des Obeaux

It wasn’t the best of starts to the season for Clan Des Obeaux, as he finished second in the Lancashire Chase at Haydock and in the Denman Chase at Newbury, whilst a third-place finish in the King George VI was wedged in between. After bypassing Cheltenham, and Nicholls confirming it’s the last we’ll see of the nine-year-old at Prestbury Park, the Sir Alex Ferguson-owned horse had a fantastic end to the season, winning the Bowl Chase at Aintree in April before stunning two-time Gold Cup winner Al Boum Photo to the Punchestown Gold Cup in Ireland. Clan Des Obeaux is favourite for the King George VI, and with no Cheltenham on the cards, Nicholls will likely have his sights set on the Grand National Festival, where Clan Des Obeaux will be out to defend his Bowl crown.

Bravemansgame

Bravemansgame made a great start to his first full season as a novice, winning a GBB Novices’ Hurdle at Exeter after coming second at Chepstow, and he kicked on from there, landing back-to-back victories at Newbury, including in the Grade 1 Challow Novices’ Hurdle, where he beat Star Gate by a huge 10 lengths as he showed his star qualities. However, the six-year-old couldn’t step up to the mark on centre stage, finishing third in the Baring Bingham Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham before coming second to Ahoy Senor in the Sefton Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree. Bravemansgame’s odds of winning the Festival Novices Chase are currently sitting at around 11/1, but he will face stiff competition from the likes of Willie Mullins’ Galopin Des Champs and Dan Skelton’s My Drogo. 

Paso Doble

One of the most exciting horses coming out of Nicholls’ yard, Paso Doble has the potential to have a fantastic season this year. Under the guidance of Jim Bolger, the youngster won two races, including the Roscommon Racecourse Handicap from a massive 40/1, before being bought by Graeme Brooks for €125,000 and being moved to Nicholls’ stable. Paso Doble came third in his debut for the English trainer, a Grade 2 Juvenile Hurdle, but won next time out in a GBB Novices’ Hurdle at Kempton. If Harry Cobden or Frost, both of which have taken a ride each since Nicholls became the horse’s trainer, can get off to a good start to the season in Paso Doble’s saddle, then we could see him feature in the Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham, which Nicholls hinted at entering him in last season.

We are now three games into the Bruno Lage era at Wolverhampton Wanderers and the Midlands outfit are still yet to find the back of the net. Despite some encouraging performances, Wolves find themselves rooted to 18th in the table, perilously swinging in the relegation zone — but still at a very early stage in the season.

The opening day was full of chances away to Leicester City at the King Power Stadium, but each one was squandered. They then faced former manager Nuno Espírito Santo’s Tottenham Hotspur at Molineux and came up short, before a late strike from Manchester United’s Mason Greenwood confirmed they would lose all three of their opening games 1-0. Although Lage’s style of play is slowly being implemented, the Premier League is simply too ruthless to afford teams time to adjust and if they don’t pick up the pace soon, they will be swept aside and left in a relegation dogfight.

Injuries have massively plagued Wolves over the last twelve months. After losing star striker Raúl Jiménez with a fractured skull, a player who has scored a respectable 34 Premier League goals since his arrival from Benfica was made permanent following a successful loan, other players have been left to pick up the pieces and they simply haven’t been able to match the Mexican’s productivity. 

Patrick Cutrone was recalled from his loan in Italy last season but has gone back to his homeland over the summer, now plying his trade for Empoli, whilst Fabio Silva has undeniable talent, but it is still raw and unearthed, lacking the devastation and reliability needed to be a top forward for the time being. This has once again led to Jiménez being the main source of goals.

While Lage has had opportunities to strengthen over the summer, bringing in Francisco Trincão on loan from Barcelona as his main signing, you feel there are attacking gaps in the side that need to be plugged urgently. Their midfield is getting older, with João Moutinho turning 35 and while their starting line up is an established Premier League outfit, you wonder how much longer they can stick together before they are picked apart by injuries and departures. Regardless, Lage has this side until January and before then has big games coming up in which to end their perilous run in-front of goal.

Wolves face newly promoted sides Watford and Brentford back-to-back, fixtures which they come in as favourites on the Bet exchange to win. However, the latter are unbeaten under Thomas Frank and will prove tough opposition. Lage can feel hard done by with the decisions that have gone against him in recent weeks, but in these next two games, they have to punish the new boys when they are dominating proceedings. They didn’t against United and were duly punished, to the frustration of Lage, who said: “VAR is there to help the referees. The referee did not see the foul. The VAR did not see the foul. For me, I just saw the leg of the player.

“If someone told me that the best way is to defend and put 10 men behind the ball every time and we would win games, for sure I would go with that idea. But I think this idea is better. The way we play, the way we create chances, I am sure the goals will come.”

Golf has become one of the most popular sports on the planet during the last century, which is why you can bet around the world that there are fans who adore the sport. As a result, golfers have become well-known worldwide, and the sport has also brought them financial rewards due to the large prize pools compared to other sports. These pioneers paved the way for today’s emerging stars, and today’s golfers owe a debt of gratitude to them.

In this blog, we’ve listed the top golfers globally, regardless of gender or primary circuit, just like boxing’s pound-for-pound rankings. We used performance, major championship achievements, and all-around talent to generate the rating.

How does Sam Snead stack up against Tiger Woods? Rory McIlroy to Ben Hogan? To whom do you compare Jack and Arnold? It’s a difficult task until you do the math. How many major championships, pro tour triumphs, and world championship victories do players have? These are some of the factors we have addressed, but we have put this list together based on raw skill when it comes down to it. So, without further ado, here we have some of the best golfers on the planet.

Jack Nicklaus

Palmer, Player, Watson, and Trevino were all excellent players, but Nicklaus brought out their best. But, more importantly, his physical skill and power, mental tenacity, consistent level of greatness, and ingenuity in terms of destroying golf courses around the world has made golf a better game.

You’re well aware of the list of achievements. More than Hogan and Palmer combined, he has won 18 major titles. There are a whopping 37 top twos in majors. Nicklaus faced and defeated many of the game’s finest players during their peak. When he couldn’t beat them, he enticed them to give it their all. To underscore his argument, Nicklaus, at the age of 46, was able to summon enough of his old-school magic to defeat names like Ballesteros, Kite, and Norman — all of whom were at the prime of their powers — to win his sixth Masters in 1986, in one of the greatest sporting moments of all time.

Patty Berg

After winning 29 amateur titles, including three women’s majors, Patty Berg turned professional in 1940. She served in the Marines as a lieutenant from 1942 through 1945, winning two more major titles in the process. She added another major in 1946, and with the war over, she turned her attention to golf. Her 15 major championships were completed in 1958, but her last triumph came in 1962. Berg was president of the organisation that came before the LPGA, which was created in 1950. She won 60 women’s competitions and 63 overall between 1937 and 1962.

Sam Snead

If winning is the yardstick by which perfection is measured, Sam Snead is the greatest player in golf history. Slammin’ Sammy won more golf tournaments than any other golfer, with a smooth, syrupy swing that appeared as natural and fluid as breathing – a stunning total of 82 PGA Tour wins and anywhere between 135 and 165 triumphs worldwide, depending on who you ask. Moreover, he won in four different decades, from the 1936 West Virginia Closed Pro until the 1965 Greater Greensboro Open (his ninth victory in that event) when he was 52 years old.

Snead won three Masters tournaments, including a playoff victory over friend and nemesis Ben Hogan in 1954. He won the PGA Championship three times and the British Open once. However, Snead never managed to win the one event that seemed to be his by inheritance. He never won a major championship in the United States. His near-tragic failures at the Open, though, do not detract from his achievements.

His golf swing was so effective that it lasted far into his senior years and is still considered the gold standard for golf swings. He gave golf fans one last glimpse of his magnificence in 1979 when he became the first player to shoot a 67 and a 66 in the Quad Cities Open at the age of 67. Snead was a beloved ambassador and advocate for the game by then and for the remainder of his life.

Louise Suggs

Louise Suggs won 11 women’s majors which led to her becoming one of the LPGA’s pioneers. In a 54-hole match on a 9-hole executive course in Palm Beach, Suggs defeated Sam Snead. Snead came in third and never forgot it, according to Suggs. During a competition in Chicago, Suggs also beat Ben Hogan by a stroke over nine holes. At the time, she was just having fun with him. Suggs has won 58 LPGA events and 60 overall titles. As an amateur, she won the Women’s Western Open, a major at the time.

Arnold Palmer

There have been better players with more attractive swings in the past. But no golfer has ever been more influential than Arnold Palmer, the King. He increased prize money, took golf out of country clubs and into our living rooms, and amassed a legion of loyal fans. Moreover, he had more flare than any other athlete when it came to winning — and losing. Palmer ruled from 1958 through 1968 among the azaleas and pines of Augusta National, where Arnie’s Army initially gathered. Except for 1963, he competed in every Masters tournament throughout that period, winning four times, coming second twice, third once, and fourth twice.