Niche Market Profile

Niche Market is a horse that has been on the scene of National Hunt racing for some time. The main problem for Niche Market has been inconsistency but trainer Paul Nicholls has not given up on the horse.

Niche Market is a ten-year-old Bay Gelding with two wins, three seconds and two thirds from a grand total of 23 races over jumps. These are not impressive statistics but Niche Market does have the ability to win a massive race like the Grand National.

Niche Market's First Race

Niche Market's first race came over 23 furlongs at Exeter on October 23 2007. Niche Market was beaten by 22 lengths by a short priced favourite. There was a lot to be taken from Niche Market's first race.

The horse looked lively and content to run over a long distance. It was clear that a lot of time had been spent on developing the stamina of the horse and improving the racing style.

Racing Style of Niche Market

The racing style of Niche Market is that of a horse that likes to get out in front early in a race and control the pace. In both of the wins for this horse, the jockey has pushed the ten-year-old towards the front of the pack where it has an influence on how fast everyone is going.

The racing style of Niche Market can also be the biggest weakness of this horse. The debut showed that Niche Market does not have a strong staying on ability and if the horse sets too high a pace early on then a strong finisher will always win in the final few furlongs.

Niche Market with Paul Nicholls

Niche Market with Paul Nicholls is a story that has only lasted three races. These three races have produced a fifth place, an eighth place and a no finish. This is not impressive but there must be a reason why Nicholls chose to take the horse on.

Niche Market with Paul Nicholls seems to be a story in progress because Nicholls is not the sort of trainer who takes on a horse without good reason to do so. Nicholls has to believe that Niche Market has a strong future despite already being ten-years-old. The Nicholls stables are world famous for producing strong jump horses regardless of age.

Performances of Niche Market

One of the main reasons for the inconsistent performances of Niche Market could be the fact the horse has never had a regular jockey for an extended period of time. Harry Skelton has ridden Niche Market the most times but the horse has never had the same jockey for more than three back-to-back races.

The performances of Niche Market may improve if Nicholls can encourage a top National Hunt jockey to become stable jockey for the horse. This would allow the jockey to become familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of the horse which would improve the efficiency of performance. The performances of Niche Market have varied because different jockeys have different styles.