Stage Star: Profile, Record, Age & Best Races

Stage Star is a former Cheltenham Festival winner for trainer Paul Nicholls and his connections are hoping a fine run on Trials Day in the Cotswolds in January signals he's coming back to his best.

He chased home L'homme Presse that afternoon and is being touted for a Grade 1 target at Aintree's Grand National Festival in April. 

Name: Stage Star

Age: 9

Weight: 11st 8lb

Trainer: Paul Nicholls

Winnings: £332,315

Cheltenham Festival wins: 1

Stage Star race stats

Runs	1st	2nd	3rd
20	9	3	1

Stage Star Age 

Stage Star is a nine-year-old gelding by Fame And Glory. 

Stage Star Weight

In his most recent start Stage Star carried 11st 8ln in the Grade 2 Cotswold Chase at Cheltenham on Trials Day, finishing second to Britain's leading Gold Cup contender L'homme Presse. 

Stage Star Record

Stage Star has amassed a smart record in three different disciplines. He is 1-3 in bumpers, placing in Aintree's Grade 2 on Grand National day, 3-5 over hurdles (peak effort in the Challow) and 5-12 in chases. 

He appears to be best suited by a sound surface and when getting an uncontested lead.

His biggest win came in the Grade 1 Turners Novices' Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in 2023 when he controlled the race in front under Harry Cobden and beat Notlongtillmay with odds-on favourite Mighty Potter only third. 

He returned the following season to win the November Gold Cup back at Cheltenham off a rating of 155, but has not tasted success in five subsequent starts. 

Stage Star Next Race

After chasing home L'homme Presse on Trials Day at Cheltenham in January, connections of Stage Star appear content to wait for Aintree this season. 

Owners Group racing manager Dan Downie was delighted with the performance and suggested the Aintree Bowl would be the major spring target. 

Stage Star Owner and Cost

Stage Star is owned by the Owners Group, one of British racing's most prominent syndicates that has become synonymous with success over the jumps and on the Flat. 

Pentland Hills became the 4000-strong syndicate's first Grade 1 winner at the Cheltenham Festival in the 2019 Triumph Hurdle, but Stage Star has since eclipsed their first major jumps star's on-track achievements. 

The Owners Group are renowned for using a wide variety of trainers in both spheres and often punch above their weight at Britain's major meetings.

Stage Star was bought for €60,000 at the Goffs Sales in June 2019. 

Stage Star Trainer

Paul Nicholls is a 14-time champion jumps trainer in Britain and is one of the most successful of all-time at his craft.

He has been training since the 1991/92 season and his annual strike-rate has remarkably never dipped below 20 per cent since 1995/96.

Nicholls has been responsible for many of jump racing’s superstars in the past two decades. 

His handling of stablemates Kauto Star and Denman, who beat each other in many of the sport’s flagship Grade 1s in unforgettable careers with great longevity, is testament to his brilliance as a trainer.

Meanwhile, he also oversaw the careers of the likes of Master Minded, Big Buck's and Silviniaco Conti as well as winning the Grand National with Neptune Collonges in 2012. 

Stage Star Official Rating

Stage Star is officially rated 163 following his runner-up finish in the Cotswold Chase behind L'homme Presse on Cheltenham Trials Day. Over hurdles he carries a BHA rating of 140.

Stage Star Prize Money

In his career to date Stage Star has bagged £332,315 for his connections, with his biggest payday being the £98,472 he gained for winning the Grade 1 Turners Novices' Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in 20023. 

Stage Star News

Stage Star showed a glimpse of his old form behind the Venetia Williams-trained L'homme Presse at Cheltenham in January.

He is 0-4 at Aintree, most recently when fourth in the Old Roan Handicap Chase there in October, but connections are targeting the three-mile Grade 1 at Grand National Festival in April. 

Owners Group racing manager Dan Downie said at Cheltenham on Trials Day: "He ran really well and was very much back to form, he jumped really well and travelled really well.

"He ran great. He was only beaten by a very good horse, so we couldn’t be happier.

"He won't go to Cheltenham, we'll look to go to Aintree and get him fresh for that."

Any odds displayed were correct at the time of writing and are subject to fluctuation.