With Cobden taking up the role as first jockey to JP McManus in Britain and Ireland from May, the 14-time champion trainer will need a new rider on the big days
Paul Nichols has named the jockey likely to replace Harry Cobden on his best horses next season. Cobden, 27, has been number one jockey to 14-time British champion jumps trainer Nicholls in recent seasons, but from May he will ride for jump racing’s biggest owner, billionaire JP McManus, taking on a position previously held by Sir AP McCoy and Barry Geraghty
Cobden, champion jump jockey in Britain in the 2023-24 season, will continue to ride for Nicholls for the rest of the campaign but has his first big assignment in McManus’s green and gold silks when he partners Jonbon in the Clarence House Chase at Ascot on Saturday.
So from next season Nicholls could turn to one of his former stable jockeys as a replacement for Cobden on the big days, Sam Twiston-Davies who was stable jockey at Ditcheat for four years between 2014 and 2018.
READ MORE: Jockey caught drink driving at Appleby Horse Fair ‘can’t be trusted to hold a licence’READ MORE: Frankie Dettori “not expected” to be able to pay £765,000 tax debt “due to insufficient funds”
In his Betfair blog, Nicholls said: “The news broke this week that Harry Cobden will be riding JP McManus’ horses from May, but first and foremost Harry was never retained by us, it’s always been a gentleman’s agreement which I’ve had with all the jockeys over the years.
“He’s been with us since he was 16 and I don’t know how many people know this but his mother was a Barber (Paul Barber was the owner of Denman), so in effect he was part of the Barber team so it was always his destiny to ride for us and he’s had 10 great years.
“When an offer comes along like this it’s too good to refuse. I’ve known about it for about a month and Harry and I have had several conversations, good conversations, and ultimately, I couldn’t stand in his way, it’s a fantastic job and worth a lot of money.”
He went on: “He will still come and ride out for us, he’ll still ride for us when he can, but obviously he won’t be available as much, so I’ll have to think of a few different things for next season.
“I love giving the youngsters opportunities, which I have done over the years, and I’ve got some good young jockeys in the team, like Freddie Keighley, Freddie Gingell, Jay Tidball, but sometimes in those big Grade one races you need a Grade One jockey until those guys are ready. We have Lorcan Williams with us as well, so he’ll ride plenty.
“I’ve been in a conversation with Sam Twiston-Davies and I’ll have a meet up with him one day so it’s possible that he could ride some for us also, especially on those big days. But we’re not going to do anything in a hurry, we don’t need to, Harry’s going to ride for us for the rest of the season, I’ve got plenty of jockeys.
“I’ll meet up with the owners, have a discussion and see how everyone feels, so we’re under no pressure to do anything quickly.”
He added: “I would just like to wish Harry all the best, as would all the team. He’s not going to disappear from us, he’ll ride many more winners for us in the future, but we all wish him well in his new job.”
Twiston-Davies’ first Grade One winner for Nicholls was Dodging Bullets in the 2014 Tingle Creek at Sandown, a horse he went on to steer to victory in the Queen Mother Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival the following spring.
The duo have enjoyed plenty of major successes both during and since their official stint together, with their notable victories including the Melling Chase with Politologue and the King George VI Chase and Punchestown Gold Cup with Clan Des Obeaux.
