Paul Nicholls: Lexus Chase next on the agenda for Tidal Bay

Paul believes Tidal Bay put in a career-best performance at Newbury on Saturday

Paul was delighted with the performance of Tidal Bay at Newbury yesterday and believes his veteran chaser is a big price for the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Here, Paul outlines his future plans for some of his stable stars...

We may have just missed out on the big one yesterday, but we still had three great winners at Newbury and what a race Tidal Bay ran.

If he was a six or seven-year-old, and not pushing 12, he would be just about be second favourite for the Gold Cup now.

The likes of Silviniaco Conti - and Al Ferof and Kauto Stone - are shorter than him in the betting for Cheltenham and have youth and potential on their side. But on pure form, there is not a lot between them.

So, as it is, Tidal Bay is a massive price at 40.039/1 for the Gold Cup on Betfair. And that could look even bigger after the Lexus, where he goes next.

I can't tell you how much of a changed horse he is physically this season - maybe a bi-product of his different and varied training regime here - and that seems to have translated to his performances on the track.

I just love training these older horses.

Perhaps now Timeform will consider losing the squiggle from his rating.

After all, that second yesterday came off a mark of 166 and has to be a career-best for him, and it was his third top class performance in a row.

And that is saying something considering what he has done in the past. Don't forget he won an Arkle by 13 lengths.

And I think we have just bought a decent four-year-old from France in the shape of Fago for Graham Wylie. It's a long way down the line but maybe he could just end up being an Arkle possible.

After all, Fago looked to be a non-stayer when second in a 2m6f Grade 1 chase last month - funnily enough Master Minded was being raced over 2m5f in France before we bought him - and I see Timeform have already rated him 143 on that.

Hopefully, there is more to come from him, once we get him bedded him and see what we have.

It would be stretching it a bit to say there would be more to come from a certain Big Buck's, but he looked as good as ever yesterday and the Long Walk is the next stop. He looked great this morning.

I can also report Zarkandar in great form, and he is bang on course to meet a certain ex-stablemate in the International in a fortnight's time. Now, that will be interesting.

But, in the short term, all eyes are now focused on next Saturday's Tingle Creek. I see one bookmaker rates Sanctuaire as a 5-2 chance, with Sprinter Sacre at 4-9.

More of how I view those odds next week.

But before then there is the big race of the week - the Racing Welfare Trainers and Trainers' Assistants Charity race at Wincanton on Thursday.

If Sam Waley-Cohen thinks he had to struggle to get down to 9st 10lb to ride Frisco Depot yesterday, he should have a word with Dan Skelton. Dan must have lost the best part of two stone to ride Ted Spread.

I just hope it was all worth it, Dan...