Who is Megan Nicholls? ITV presenter and daughter of...

MEGAN Nicholls is the daughter of legendary 14-time champion trainer Paul Nicholls, as well as being a former jockey herself. She'a also a familiar face to fans as part of ITV's stellar horse racing coverage team. Megan Nicholls was born on July 3, 1998. She is the daughter of champion National Hunt trainer Paul Nicholls and has had an affiliation with horse racing from a very young age. Growing up at Manor Farm Stables in Ditcheat, she began her riding career in Point-to-Points before transitioning to flat racing, where she achieved notable success with 110 winners.

Image Credit: The Sun [Jockey Megan Nicholls celebrates a race win.]

In 2021, speaking of growing up with champion horses, she told Horse & Hound: “You knew that they were special because of the fuss made over them. “Dad used to try and keep us away from the racehorses when he could, but we liked to join the back of the string and get involved. "I was mad keen – I think it was harder to drag me off the ponies than get me on them.”. Megan rode Knappers Hill to victory in the Grade Two bumper at Aintree in 2021.

Image Credit: The Sun [Woman in red dress and hat at a racetrack.]

In 2022, Megan decided to retire from professional riding at the age of 25 to focus on her media work. She's now a pundit for ITV Racing alongside the likes of Sir AP McCoy, Mick Fitzgerald, Matt Chapman and Kevin Blake. Megan is also an ambassador for York Racecourse and helps to promote and celebrate women in horse racing. Champion trainer Paul Nicholls OBE was born in Gloucestershire on April 17, 1962.

Image Credit: The Sun [Paul Nicholls with Bravemansgame at his stables.]

He started his training operation in 1991 at Manor Farm, Ditcheat. His first Grade One success came with See More Indians in 1993. Another breakthrough came at the 1999 Cheltenham Festival, where he trained three winners. He first won the National Hunt Trainers' Championship in the 2005–06 season, and has gone on to become a 14-time winner of the title — just one behind Martin Pipe's all-time record of 15.

In 2011, he became the fastest National Hunt trainer to reach 2,000 winners. He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2020 for his services to horse racing. Paul has had over 3,500 winners during his time being a horse trainer, including 49 winners at the Cheltenham Festival. He has even had a Grand National winning horse in Neptune Collonges back in 2012. Before becoming a trainer, Paul enjoyed a seven-year career as a jockey, during which time he rode 133 winners.