For all bar the multimillionaires and billionaires of the world, £740,000 is a lot of money to spend on anything. Most of us could only dream of shelling out such a sum for a house, never mind a racehorse. However, that is precisely the price paid by Messrs John Hales, Sir Alex Ferguson, and Ged Mason to secure the services of Caldwell Potter in February 2024.
If that sounds like an astronomical sum to shell out for a four-legged beast, it is, with the six-figure tally representing the most ever paid for a National Hunt racehorse. However, many argued that if there was a horse to warrant such a price tag, it was this son of Martaline, who had looked like a star in the making when roaring to a 6½l success in the 2023 edition of the Grade 1 Future Champions Novice Hurdle. Exciting times lay ahead for connections as the horse moved from the Cullentra House of Gordon Elliott to Paul Nicholls’ Ditcheat operation…or did they?
Promising Start Precedes Disappointing Defeats
Having missed the second half of the 2023/24 campaign, Caldwell Potter belatedly made his yard debut at Carlisle in December 2024, with the presence of the much-hyped star casting an unfamiliar spotlight on the Cumbrian venue. The race itself went as expected. Sent off at odds of just 2/11 for the Class 3 Myles Turns 30 Novices’ Chase, the mount of Harry Cobden performed largely as expected in dismissing his rivals with the minimum of fuss. Whilst pleasing to the eye, that display told us that the horse could jump a fence but little else.
Perhaps we would learn more in his next assignment, which came in the Class 2 SSS Super Alloys Novices’ Chase over 2m4½f at Cheltenham. Sent off as the 11/10 favourite, Caldwell Potter was expected to continue his ascent but could manage only a laboured 13-length third to Jango Baie.
Despite that defeat and a rise in class to Grade 2 company for the Lightning Novices’ Chase, the punters maintained the faith on his third outing as Caldwell Potter started at odds of just 4/6 in a four-runner field. What followed was the biggest disappointment to date, as the big-money purchase faded into second in the final furlong of that 2m contest.
On the back of those efforts, a tilt at the Grade 1 contests at the Cheltenham Festival looked like too tall an order. There was, however, a newly formed handicap on Day 3 of the meeting, which Nicholls thought may be right up his street…
Jumps Rivals into Submission in Jack Richards Novices’ Chase
If there was a positive from those early season efforts, it was that Caldwell Potter had received a little help from the handicapper in dropping 5lb to a mark of 146. The form of his earlier defeat at Cheltenham wasn’t looking too bad either, with his conqueror, Jango Baie, storming up the hill to claim the Arkle on Day 1 of the meeting.
Those glimmers of hope saw Caldwell Potter start at just 7/1 in the 19-runner Jack Richards Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase, lying behind only the Gordon Elliott-trained Firefox and talented Springwell Bay in the market.
Not long into the race, those 7/1 odds began to look pretty good. Pushed straight into the lead by Harry Cobden, Caldwell Potter set out to make the running and soon found an impressive jumping rhythm that had many of those behind under pressure. And there he remained. Jumping impeccably throughout, he moved further clear of the field at the second last and kicked on for a mightily impressive 6½l success.
Jack Richards Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase 2025 Result
| Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Winnings | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Caldwell Potter | Paul Nicholls | Harry Cobden | £64,300 |
| 2nd | Anyway | David Kenneth Budds | Darragh O’Keeffe | £29,562.50 |
| 3rd | O’Moore Park | Willie Mullins | Sean O’Keeffe | £14,787.50 |
| 4th | Nurburgring | Joseph Patrick O’Brien | J J Slevin | £7,387.50 |
It may have taken him a little while, but Caldwell Potter came good when it mattered most, picking up £64,300 in first-place prize money to make a small dent in that headline-grabbing sales price.
Poignant Success Takes Nicholls to Landmark
Coming in the colours of the late John Hales, this victory added to a particularly poignant week at Prestbury Park – a fact not lost on Paul Nicholls, who stated:
“I’m delighted for the Hales family – he’ll be up there watching”.
The glory days of Kauto Star, Denman, and Master Minded may be fading in the rearview mirror for Nicholls, but this victory showed that the master handler can still get the job done when given the right sort of ammunition. First successful at the Cheltenham Festival with Flagship Uberalles in the 1999 Arkle, Nicholls now has 50 wins to his name at the most competitive meeting of the racing year.
