The Clive Smith quotes show Nicholls to be a tw*t of the highest order.
I would imagine he's saved himself a fair amount of trainers fees from Smith and others with his behaviour over this.
And, he prioritised throwing his toys out of the pram and getting Kauto out of the yard asap rather than letting his stable staff say goodbye. What a clown.
Hamm I was merely pointing out your assertion that Nicholls prioritised throwing his toys out of the pram and getting Kauto out of the yard asap rather than letting his stable staff say goodbye was completely unfounded and the vitriolic abuse was unnecessary and does you no credit.
With reference to the Smith quotes, they seem to be somewhat contradictory. He seems to indicate that he told Nicholls as long ago as May that he would be sending him to do dressage whereas all statements in the Autumn indicated all parties were still unsure what the future held for the horse. On the morning of the Betfred Chase at Haydock, Smith was the guest on the Morning Line for the unveiling of the KS statue and once again stated no decision had been taken regarding the horse’s future although he did say he might go to dressage.
Might !
Given he has allegedly consulted experts I am confused as to why the horse has been sent to an eventer to do dressage.
He has also been quoted as saying if KS does not take to dressage he will be put in a field somewhere in Surrey so he can visit him. So much for keeping him active then.
Coming to you not being able understand my defence of Nicholls, I assume you refer to my post of yesterday. It is not so much defending Nicholls as suggesting the decision by Smith to remove the horse is shameful given all that racing has given him. Yes he bought all the horses, not just KS, and yes the Nicholls stable benefited enormously from having the horses in their yard. Nonetheless the success of the horse was due to the countless hours of dedication by a lot of the Nicholls team who over many years built up a vast knowledge of what the horse needs and what it is capable of. Smith was the prime beneficiary of this and was substantially rewarded in terms of prize money and lots of memories which he might not have achieved elsewhere.
Whether he likes it or not the horse became the peoples’ horse in the world of NH racing and became a great ambassador for British racing all over the world and Smith himself achieved worldwide fame. Unfortunately there are many “takers” in life and not as many give anything back and I feel it was shameful of Smith not to give something back to British racing which has served him so well.
A wonderful opportunity has been missed to promote British racing. KS could have been used at all sorts of events, not just sporting ones, to achieve this. The horse if allowed to stay at Ditcheat would have been ridden out each day by Clifford or Donna, would have helped in educating they young horses and been kept in tip top condition in an environment where he was entirely happy. Many charities benefited from the proceeds of stable tours mostly taken by people wishing to see KS “at home”
I trust Hamm, this answers your question.
