How Sir Alex Ferguson helped Paul Nicholls with one of his toughest decisions

Paul Nicholls has said that his decision to replace Sam Twiston-Davies with Harry Cobden as his stable jockey was one of the hardest he has faced in his career – and he even turned to legendary football manager Sir Alex Ferguson for advice.

Nicholls was speaking to the Racing Post for a major interview in Sunday's newspaper in which he reflects on fatherhood, his love of Christmas racing and the "madness" of the new whip rules as well as looking forward to his bid for a 13th King George, in which Cobden is set to ride favourite Bravemansgame with Twiston-Davies on stablemate Hitman.

The riding plans echo those of 2019, when Twiston-Davies won the King George on the yard's second string Clan Des Obeaux ahead of Cobden on Cyrname, and Nicholls is pleased he can continue to call on Twiston-Davies despite moving Cobden into the number one spot four years ago.

"When I moved Sam aside to put Harry into the job, I could see that if I let Harry go he was going to go to the Tizzards or somewhere else and that was going to be the end," he explained. "I had to make a decision and sometimes decisions are quite hard.

"I had to either keep Sam or keep Harry – you couldn't keep both. I went with Harry and it's probably one of the best decisions I've made and that's not undermining Sam at all. He's a lovely lad, a brilliant jockey, rode us lots of winners and still will do. But at the time I had to do something. Sometimes you have to make tough decisions and if I hadn't made that tough decision, I wouldn't be where I am now with Harry."

Nicholls was also lucky to be able to call on former Manchester United boss Ferguson, an owner in the yard with the likes of Hitman and Clan Des Obeaux, for advice.

"I spoke to Alex [Ferguson] about it at the time and asked, 'What do I do?' He said, 'Just go with what's right.'

"Alex has always said to me, 'Never be afraid of tough decisions', and that's always been good advice. Harry was always going to be a great jockey and, a bit like Ruby [Walsh], we don't have too many cross words. It's all about confidence and I'm thrilled with what he's done."

Read more from Paul Nicholls in The Big Read, available in Sunday's newspaper or online for Members' Club Ultimate subscribers from 6pm on Saturday. Click here to sign up.

Read this next:

'He deserves to be favourite' - King George hope Bravemansgame pleasing Nicholls

Stay ahead of the field with 50 per cent off the ultimate racing subscription. Enjoy the Racing Post digital newspaper and award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing. Plus, make informed betting decisions with our expert tips and form study tools. Head to the subscription page and select 'Get Ultimate Monthly', then enter the code WELCOME2022 to get 50 per cent off your first three months.

First three payments will be charged at £19.98, subscription renews at full monthly price thereafter.

Customers wishing to cancel will need to contact us at least seven days before their subscription is due to renew.