Nicholls purring over Pic D'Orhy potential with Champion Hurdle not discounted

Paul Nicholls on Monday hinted Pic D'Orhy might just be his next Ditcheat star and has not ruled out a supplementary Unibet Champion Hurdle entry for Saturday's Betfair Hurdle winner.

Nicholls' Somerset yard is no stranger to superstars having housed Kauto Star, Denman, Master Minded, Big Buck's and Neptune Collonges, and the 11-time champion trainer has high hopes for the five-year-old, who returned at 33-1 when landing Britain's richest handicap hurdle over the weekend.

It was a performance that had jockey Harry Cobden thinking of the Champion Hurdle, but Nicholls is in no rush to commit to supplementing and needs to mull things over with owner Johnny de la Hey.

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Nicholls said: "He's only a five-year-old but looks fantastic and what a smashing chaser he'll be next season. I probably wish I'd put him in the Champion Hurdle but hindsight is a wonderful thing.

"I haven't discussed it with Johnny and I haven't made a plan. We don't have to make any decision now and he'll probably have one or two more runs this season because we're looking forward to the day he goes chasing."

Pic D'Orhy – an exciting prospect for next season's Racing Post Arkle – is 25-1 with William Hill for an open-looking Champion Hurdle next month.

"I could actually see him running tidily in the Aintree Hurdle and a flat track might suit him well," Nicholls added. "There aren't too many options for him and we could even go to France, but if you look at him as a model, you can see why I like him so much. He's every bit a chaser and looks great having run only on Saturday.

"I haven't had time to think about the Champion Hurdle and it's not something you can make a quick decision over. We'll keep our options open. He's a horse for the future and I've always really liked him, while Saturday was the first time we'd had him really right. He's a hugely exciting horse for chasing, so Johnny and I will have that in mind with regard to where he goes next."

Pic D'Orhy finished tenth in the Triumph Hurdle last season before falling in France in November. He warmed up for the Betfair Hurdle with an outing at Ascot and a sound surface suits the multiple Auteuil winner.

"The Scottish Champion Hurdle could be another option, but I'm not in a hurry and that's the main thing," Nicholls said.

"He loved that [decent] ground at Newbury. People think he's a typical French horse and wants heavy ground, but when they come over some horses appreciate better ground. He hated the mud at Ascot and was a different animal on good ground."

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