The seven-year-old has been one of the biggest success stories of the entire season, progressing from a Fontwell novice chase victory last June to claiming Grade One glory in the Kauto Star Novices' Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day under riding sensation Bryony Frost.
He finished outside the first two places for the first time over fences when only fifth in the RSA Insurance Chase at last month's Cheltenham Festival and is set for one final hurrah this season, either on Merseyside or in Scotland.
Nicholls told At The Races: "He's just had an easy couple of weeks. There's a three-mile-one-furlong Grade One novice chase at Aintree and there's also a £100,000 three-mile novice handicap at Ayr the following week, which is a new race and an interesting race. He could run in that actually.
"He'll run in one of those two, I'd say. We'd obviously like to run him at Aintree, but I would like to run him on some better ground, at long last. He ran a bit free at Cheltenham. We rode him to win and if we'd ridden him a bit conservatively, we might have finished third."
The multiple champion trainer also plans to go to the well once more with Politologue, but remains keen to avoid a rematch with Altior.
In Altior's enforced absence, Politologue won the Haldon Gold Cup at Exeter, the Tingle Creek at Sandown and the Desert Orchid Chase at Kempton in the first half of the campaign.
However, he proved no match for Nicky Henderson's superstar in the Game Spirit at Newbury or the Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham.
Nicholls said: "He could run once more. He's definitely come out of Cheltenham OK. I'm not convinced now that Cheltenham suits him particularly well. A flatter track seems to suit him and he could well go for the two-and-a-half-mile (Melling Chase) at Aintree.
"I'm not sure I want to take on Altior again, so if he went to Aintree we could wait and go to Sandown (Celebration Chase). I don't see there's a lot of point (in taking on Altior)."
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