BRIDGET NICHOLLS is looking forward to a big run from her stable star, Lord Noelie, in this afternoon's Skybet Chase at Doncaster.

Formerly known as the Great Yorkshire Chase, Lord Noelie has been aimed at the three-mile contest ever since providing Bridget with her first and only winner to date as a public trainer.

The landmark success for Bridget came at Cheltenham's New Year's Eve fixture, ending two-and-a-half months of frustration for the Somerset-based rookie handler.

"That one meant a lot, the horses had been running well and we'd had plenty of thirds and fourths, but no winners" she explained.

Prior to the triumph at Prestbury Park, Lord Noelie had gone almost four years without a win, a staggering statistic when one considers he appeared to be nothing short of a genuine Gold Cup material having prevailed in the Sun Alliance Novices' Chase at the Millennium Cheltenham Festival.

Such a desperate drought often affects the confidence of both horse and trainer, especially as Lord Noelie has a reputation for being "not entirely straightforward" to train, due to his predisposition of breaking blood vessels.

Clearly those problems are over for the time being, although the 11-year-old now has to contend with humping top-weight against some auspiciously improving younger bucks such as Martin Pipe's Magical Bailiwick.

What really sways me in favour of Lord Noelie is his known ability to perform at highest level. Take for example the 2002 Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury when trained by Henrietta Knight - he ran an absolute corker to finish fourth under the crushing burden of 12 stone off a rating of 161.

Given the selection has nose-dived 16lbs, plus has finally found a way to get his head back in front, his prospects are now simply impossible to ignore.

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