Paul Nicholls: Big news ahead of this year's Grand National

Paul has made a big decision this week

Betfair Ambassador Paul Nicholls has big news ahead of this year's Grand National...

When the five day declarations come out for the Grand National at midday, you will potentially see the most significant development in National Hunt racing in my lifetime. Certainly in my 20 years here at Ditcheat.
 
Because yesterday a big Qatar-based owner bought Join Together, and he will run under new ownership,  and in new colours, at Aintree on Saturday.
 
I have been asked not to name the identity of the new owner until the revised declarations have been made public at midday, but his racing manager has kindly allowed me to break the basic story first here in my Betfair column this morning.
 
We have seen how dominant Qatar-based wealth is slowly beginning to dominate sport in our country, be it in football, hosting the World Cup, or on the Flat in horse racing.
 
And that was once again hammered home when Sheikh Joaan Bin Hamad Al Thani of Qatar bought Richard Hannon's big 2,000 Guineas hope Toronado last week.
 
So you don't need me to tell you how significant a step this is if it a sign that the Qatar wealth is now going to be pumped into National Hunt.
 
I can't say too much at this stage, but I hope and believe it is.
 
We may see more entires racing in National Hunt now, I suppose, if they want to carry on breeding from some of the recruits from the Flat they send jumping.
 
But I'd teach Linford "Lunchbox" Christie to go hurdling, with his old boy dangling over the obstacles, if it meant having the ammunition to try and go and buy whatever horse I wanted. And, as things stand with Nicky and Willie at the moment, I need all the firepower I can get.
 
Not that I don't have very wealthy owners at Ditcheat already, who have helped me massively get to where I am today in the sport. They will continue to form the central plank of Team Ditcheat.
 
And, in fact, this deal came through one of my loyal owners, Andy Stewart, who was out in Dubai last week, and concerns two of my other biggest supporters, my landlord and mentor Paul Barber, and Ian Fogg.
 
Now, Andy knows everyone in the sport, and most people in business, come to think of it.  And we both know Richard Hannon well; in fact; I had a horse with Richard recently.
 
And when the Toronado deal was being brokered in Dubai on Thursday, people got talking and Andy asked a prominent Qatar-based businessman why all their interest in racing focused solely on the Flat, when the most high-profile race globally is the Grand National?
 
To Andy's amazement, Aintree and Cheltenham didn't really focus on their radar. But it soon did after Andy got talking.
 
And if they thought the Dubai World Cup is big news regards TV viewing figures and exposure, then they were soon informed otherwise.
 
So the interest spiralled and, sensing a big opportunity, Andy texted me and said that I should seriously consider offers for my National horses.
 
Clearly, for obvious reasons, Harry The Viking and What A Friend were not realistic options given the origins of the interest and the owners and politics involved there. So I sat down with Join Together's owners, Paul and Ian, who also lives in Ditcheat, in the Manor that night.
 
They took a bit of persuading, because money is not their driving force. They are in it for the love of the sport and the thrill of seeing their horses run.
 
Fortunately, cows and cheese come a close second to horses to Mr Barber! So when I pointed out to Paul that he could probably buy another hundred from the sale, and churn out another few hundreds of tonnes of cheese a week, if he accepted the offer on the table they began to give it serious thought.
 
But, seriously, in the end they agreed to the sale for totally unselfish reasons. They realised just what a big deal, and game-changer, this could be for the yard - and it's a good deal for them too, make no mistake  - if this was the first of many horses from the owner.
 
There will be some sad faces at Aintree on Saturday if Join Together does win - unfortunately, we couldn't thrash out a deal for the horse to run in their colours on Saturday - but, for purely selfish reasons, I'll be delighted.
 
Very often how a first horse performs for a new owner is the most important, and while Join Together is a 20-1 chance, he is proven over the fences and has a big chance. But simply by buying the horse it will probably give the new owner prime-time exposure leading up to the race, and on Channel 4 on Saturday, that buying 100 Flat horses wouldn't give them.
 
And the buzz of the National is like no other in racing.
 
As Paul and Foggy and I discussed in the Manor, every horse - with the obvious exceptions of the legends such as Denman - has its price. Just as every football player does and you have to know when to sell. I'm sure Man Utd didn't want to sell Ronaldo a few years ago, but 80-odd million softened the blow.
 
So let's hope that I have a chequebook with that amount scribbled in when I am the sales this summer!
 
But, being serious, this could be the start of something very big. Flat racing is fine, but hopefully the big money boys will soon see that National Hunt racing is where the true excitement, and sport, lies in this game.
 
But more news when Weatherbys release the National decs at midday.