Paul Nicholls Season Goes From Bad To Worse Following Kalif Du Berlais Freak Injury

Kalif Du Berlais went off as the ⅘ favourite just then in Coral Silviniaco Conti Chase, and seemed to suffer a freak injury halfway from home which could be terrible for Paul Nicholls and connections. The former grade one winner unseated Harry Cobden during the race before 12 year old legend Edwardstone took the contest, but the six year old’s fault halfway during the race may be one to look away from for the Nicholls yard.

Earlier this season Paul Nicholls announced that his stable star and potential number one Cheltenham Gold Cup hope Caldwell Potter would be out for the season after injury, and now terrible scenes at Kempton Park this afternoon may mean yet another one of his stars could be out for year, if not indefinitely. 

Coming up against three rivals in Master Chewy, Boombawn, and Edwardstone, Kalif Du Berlais was travelling nicely and looked well before a distracting mistake caused him to unseat Harry Cobden, and seemed to suffer a gruesome leg injury. The severity of the injury is not yet known, but the mistake didn’t look great on the horse's behalf, seemingly looking lame whilst walking off the track, and coming down heavily on his front legs.

For Paul Nicholls this is a massive hit. His stable isn’t as near as good as he would’ve hoped it could have been this year, and now with one of his star youngsters potentially facing career ending circumstances, the season has just got that whole lot more weak for himself and the team. Despite still having star horses in his stable such as No Drama This End, the future consequences that Kalif Du Berlais could face is a massive detriment to his season, and a terrible and upsetting outcome for all connections involved.