Our columnist reacts to the news Johnny de la Hey has removed his 11 horses from trainer Paul Nicholls.
Hats off to press room colleague Jack Keene for his exclusive story on Tuesday evening that Johnny de la Hay had removed all 11 of his horses from trainer Paul Nicholls and sent them to Dan Skelton, Jamie Snowden and Chris Gordon.
The first thought was ‘ouch’. This is the end of a 15, 16-year relationship. A successful one at that too.
But now Pic D’Orhy will head to pastures news for what in all likelihood will be his final season on the racecourse.
Nicholls, already in a period of transition, didn’t need this. Whether there’s a common thread behind this decision, and the ones take by Gordon and Sue Hall plus Neil and Alfie Smith early last autumn, we’ll probably never know.
