£256k debt revealed as trainer Nicholls quits

Details of £256,872.69 owed to creditors were set out at a voluntary liquidation meeting in Thirsk that brought his 25-year training career in North Yorkshire, which saw him saddle over 1,300 winners, to an end.

Amounts owed include £113,623 to bloodstock dealers Goffs; £51,340 to Goresbridge Horse Sales; £46,404 to Doncaster Bloodstock Sales; £6,192 to Thirsk-based JE Swiers Ltd and smaller sums to 30 other companies, many of which are rural enterprises in North Yorkshire.

One of the proudest moments for the 60-year-old Pudsey-born ‘sprint king’ came in 1997 when his Ya Malak dead-heated with Coastal Bluff in a dramatic finish to York’s five furlong Nunthorpe Stakes. The horse was ridden by his wife Alex Greaves, who became the first female jockey to win a Group One in Britain.

Further Nunthorpe success came in 2004 with Bahamian Pirate, a battle-hardened horse who ran in 104 races, while another Group One winner – Regal Parade – contributed to six Ayr Gold Cup wins for Nicholls.

More recently, Sovereign Debt was a mainstay for the Thirsk yard and the eight-year-old goes down as Nicholls’ last ever winner after landing a valuable prize in Qatar last month.

“Sovereign Debt was our last runner from Tall Trees, as due to financial problems we have had to cease training,” tweeted Nicholls. “It was nice to go out on a high during what has been a difficult time & id like to thank all our owners that have supported us.”

Nicholls also faces trial on two charges of sexual assault, which he strenuously denies. The case, which was due to have been heard at Teesside Crown Court last month, has been adjourned until the summer.

No mention of these ongoing proceedings were made in the report that Nicholls set out to creditors in his capacity as chairman of Tall Trees Racing Ltd.

He set out how his fortunes went into reverse after saddling 93 winners in 2011.

“Unfortunately I was taken seriously ill with a condition diagnosed as haemochromatosis (iron overload) and after a period in hospital I found the condition and subsequent treatment extremely debilitating,” he wrote.

“This had a damaging effect on the business as I was not physically sound and not capable of being as effective as a trainer. We suffered with some owners losing faith and the number of horses in training gradually declined.

“Our financial performance suffered and for the year ended 31 March, 2014, we suffered a net loss of £155,143 on a turnover of £601,904.”

Despite one land transaction that helped the company record a small profit of £13,298 the following year, Nicholls was unable to conclude a private deal that would have seen Tall Trees’ remaining 36,447 acres of land sold to a neighbouring farmer for £271,352.

He added: “We purchased horses at various auction sales in this period but struggled to find owners for them and found ourselves unable to settle outstanding accounts with auction houses. The position was made worse by significant bad debts being incurred with existing owners.”

Confirming he had tried to sell the land privately, he says he sought professional financial advice when HMRC threatened winding-up proceedings.