Georgie and Olive Nicholls targeting Mother’s Day treat at Sandown

Trainer teaming up with daughter in search of glory with Thank You Ma’am.

Mother and daughter Georgie and Olive Nicholls team up at Sandown on Saturday for what would be a famous success with Thank You Ma’am on Mother’s Day weekend.

The five-year-old has acquitted himself well under rules so far, placing third in a bumper and finishing the runner-up in his last three hurdle starts.

On each occasion he has met with and been beaten by a smart-looking rival, with Paul Nicholls’ Fire Flyer defeating him at Wincanton and Harry Derham’s Fourofakind finishing half a length ahead at Hereford last time out.

Champion trainer Paul is Nicholls’ ex-husband and Derham is her nephew, and the rivalry with the former will be reignited as Fire Flyer also runs in the European Breeders’ Fund Betfair ‘National Hunt’ Novices’ Handicap Hurdle Final.

The race is run over two and a half miles and is worth over GBP 45,000 to the winner, with Fire Flyer set to carry top-weight and Thank You Ma’am under a bottom-weight further reduced by the 7lb claimed by his rider Olive, daughter of both trainers in question.

“He’s been a bit unlucky, he’s been second in his last three races and each time he’s just bumped into a really nice horse,” Nicholls said of her runner.

“One trained by Paul, my ex-husband, and the other trained by Harry Derham, who is my nephew, so if I could get rid of my own family he’d have won twice!

“He’s been running very consistently, he’s stepping up to two and a half (miles) and he’ll appreciate that.

“He’s not too fussy on the ground, it’s going to be very testing but he’s getting plenty of weight off the top horses and Olive takes another 7lb off his back.

“I had quite a funny conversation with Paul, I called him and said ‘well, we’ll end up getting 21lb off you’ and he said ‘mine’s rated 127 and I think he should be rated 137’. I said ‘well that’s not helpful, thanks for that!’. We did have a giggle.

“Sandown is a stiff track, the ground will be testing and they’ll need to get every bit of the two and a half. Weight is definitely even more advantageous when you’ve got testing ground.”

Thank You Ma’am is named in honour of the late Queen and is owned by a syndicate named The Posh Pundit Racing Club who know the gelding as Leroy.

“He’ll need to be at his very best but we’d love to see him put a good run in, it’s a really fun syndicate with a nice bunch of people,” said Nicholls.

“He’s a lovely horse and he’ll provide a lot of fun for them.”

Olive is her mother’s assistant as well as an amateur rider and is particularly fond of Thank You Ma’am, aboard whom she will aim to supply an early Mother’s Day gift.

“I’ve promised mum for Mother’s Day we’re going to take Leroy to the next level and hopefully he’ll get a taste for winning as he’s got the ability,” she said.

“He is the yard favourite and is the perfect horse for the club as he has buckets of ability and is unbelievably social.

“In fact he has even been to the pub a couple of times to celebrate winning the locals a huge sum after coming third at 125-1.”

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