ANYONE still needing proof of the competitive streak that drives Paul Nicholls onwards in his quest to be the best in the business clearly hasn’t attended the annual pre-Cheltenham Festival quiz night at the Manor House Inn pub a short stone’s throw from his Ditcheat stable.

For though the years where Nicholls draws a Festival blank are few and far between, the ones where his team fails to carry off first prize in the quiz are even rarer.