Nicholls blown away by Breeze

Champion trainer Paul Nicholls has admitted to being surprised at the progress Take The Breeze has made since his switch to fences this season.

The grey was some way below the best over hurdles but has thrived over the bigger obstacles, winning on all three starts.

He followed up a victory of Alan King’s highly-regarded Bensalem at Exeter with a demolition job over some useful rivals at Newbury this week, earning quotes for both the RSA Chase and the Arkle.

However, Nicholls believes his love of soft ground may rule him out of the Cheltenham Festival.

“Take The Breeze has surprised me this year,” said Nicholls.

“We weren’t sure about the form when he beat Bensalem at Exeter and Alan and I both spoke about it and wondered if it was just odd form.

“But after the last run Alan was a lot more pleased and I was surprised how well he did it.

“He is very good on very soft ground and Cheltenham might be a problem for him, so I’ll try and win what I can with him now.

“I’ve entered him in the Irish Arkle at Leopardstown at the end of the month because that might be really soft,” he told At The Races.