Megan Nicholls is now becoming a regular fixture on the ITV Racing team and with her connection to one of the best jumping stables in the land, it’s not hard to see why. We take a look at who is Megan Nicholls and also some popular questions that horse racing fans might be asking each time they see her as an ITV Racing pundit.
Champion Trainer Paul Nicholls Is Megan’s Father
With Megan carrying the ‘Nicholls’ name then most horse racing followers in the UK and Ireland will know that the former jockey is also the daughter of 14-time champion trainer Paul Nicholls.
Megan Nicholls (26) grew up with horse racing in her blood at the Manor Farm Stables in Ditcheat and during that time witnessed many great horses like Cheltenham Gold Cup winners Kauto Star and Denman, plus 2012 Grand National winner Neptune Collonges and multiple Stayers’ Hurdle hero Big Buck’s.
WATCH: Hilarious Clip When Megan Nicholls Effectively Calls Her Dad ‘Fat’
In a video preview of the 2023 Ascot Gold Cup with Betfair’s Daryl Carter, Megan Nicholls talks about Godolphin’s Yibir not staying the trip.
When challenged by Carter saying he’s bred to stay – Nicholls has a ‘must-see’ comeback that will have you in stiches.
Does Megan Nicholls Have A Boyfriend? She Dated Top Flat Jockey Kevin Stott
Many racing fans will also want to know is Megan Nicholls has a boyfriend, is she dating or if she’s married.
We’ll she’s not married, but did date the former top flat jockey Kevin Stott. The pair met when riding in Dubai in the winter of 2019/20 but despite posting many happy Instagram pictures, they split in 2023.
During that time, Megan Nicholls was also agent for Danish-born Kevin Stott, who was the former number one jockey to Amo Racing.
Nicholls is no longer Stott’s agent but does advertise on her Instagram page that she’s in charge of booking her sister Oliver Nicholls’ rides.
Megan Nicholls Now Top ITV Racing Pundit
Rarely a weekend goes by now without the former jockey and daughter of 14-time champion trainer Paul Nicholls, Megan Nicholls hitting our screens as an ITV Racing pundit.
Nicholls was always going to grow up with horse racing in her blood, being the daughter of top jumps trainer Paul Nicholls and despite a successful career as a jockey she’s now an even more successful pundit on both Racing TV and ITV Racing.
After retiring from the saddle in 2022, Megan Nicholls said “I very much wanted to explore that and it’s something I am enjoying. I pushed in my riding career and hopefully I can do the same this way.
“Training horses is not something I am interested in at the moment, and who knows what is down the line, but I have got good opportunities on the television.”
As well as now becoming a regular with the ITV Racing team, that is headed up most weeks by Ed Chamberlin, you can also find Megan Nicholls in front on the cameras working with Racing TV.
Matt Chapman Helped Megan Nicholls Get ITV Racing Work
Megan Nicholls also credits former jockey Martin Dwyer for getting her started in TV after putting her forward for a Racing TV ‘Through The Keyhole’ style feature which got her noticed in the media. While Nicholls also credits ITV Racings ‘marmite man’ Matt Chapman has being a big help in getting her work on the channel.
Despite slipping up and accidentally swearing on live TV during her early days in front of the camera, Megan Nicholls is certainly carving out a promising media career, along with other former female jockeys Leonna Mayor and Adele Mulrennan.
“I think it’s fair to say everyone has done it. It’s easy to forget the cameras are on all the time and you can end up saying something you shouldn’t. It’s not great but I guess it’s the perils of live television – it’s only natural and we all make mistakes at some stage.”
Does Megan Nicholls Still Ride As A Jockey?
Megan Nicholls started riding in Point-to-Points but despite her heavy links with jumps racing started off as a jockey mainly on the flat as a 16 year-old. She went onto ride 110 winners, including at Glorious Goodwood, plus also notched up a Grade Two bumper winner in 2021 on the classy Knappers Hill at Aintree. Who was also trained by her dad Paul Nicholls.
She ended up retiring from the saddle in 2022 to focus more on her media work.
Nicholls announced her retirement as a jockey after nine years before riding a horse called Oleg to 5th in a race at Kempton on 3rd August 2022. It was also a fitting way to end her riding career as the horse was also trained by her dad Paul Nicholls.
Nicholls said “I wanted it to end on one of Dad’s horses because he’s obviously supported me from the start. It’s sunk in because I know that it’s been coming for a while and it’s not just something I’ve thought about overnight,”
“I haven’t been riding a lot; it’s been few and far between my rides recently. I’ve had amazing times, but once I lost my claim things naturally became harder. You can put hours and hours of work in and receive little back.”
The last winner for Megan Nicholls was on the John Berry-trained Dereham at Pontefract on 11th April 2022
Who Is Megan Nicholls’ Mother?
Megan Nicholls’ mother is Bridget, the ex-wife of Paul Nicholls. Her parents divorced when she was young, so she was also brought up by Nicholls’ former stepmother Georgie when she joined the family when Megan Nicholls was aged just seven.
Megan Nicholls Is Trainer Harry Derham’s Cousin
Paul Nicholls is the uncle of trainer Harry Dereham, so this makes Megan and Harry cousins.
Megan is also often seen riding out for her cousin Harry in the mornings and posts these pictures on her Instagram.
What Is Megan Nicholls Age and Date Of Birth?
Megan Nicholls was born on 3rd July 1998 and is aged 26.
Is Megan Nicholls On Instagram and Twitter ‘X’ ?
Yes, Megan Nicholls has over 37k followers on Instagram on her handle @meg_nicholls97. Plus, is also on X on @meg_nicholls97 where she has 28.3k followers.
Megan Nicholls Is Also an Ambassador With BetMGM
Leading bookmaker BetMGM have also snapped up Megan Nicholls as their horse racing ambassador. Nicholls provides BetMGM with regular horse racing tips and content on their blog.
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