News from Nigel Twiston-Davies Cheltenham preview

1) Getting off on the right foot

Tuesday is going to be an important day at this year’s Cheltenham Festival for Nigel Twiston-Davies. With Ballyandy set to go in the opening Sky Bet Supreme Novices’, stalwart The New One bidding to win the Stan James Champion Hurdle at the fourth attempt and the well-fancied Foxtail Hill in the Close Brothers Novice Handicap Chase, it simply looks the day most likely to serve him up a welcome winner.

Best of all, it looks like he’ll have plenty of time left for some all-important celebrating, as likely outsider Robinshill may miss the Neptune in favour of an easier alternative target, leaving the trainer without a likely runner.

2) Where there’s two, there’s three?

Twiston-Davies knows a thing or two about doubles and trebles at the Cheltenham Festival. And not just how to get them in at the bar.

Winners have tended to come in packs for the yard at recent Festivals. Last year it was a double on the Wednesday when Blaklion took the RSA Chase and Ballyandy landed the bumper, while in 2010 he enjoyed a treble on Gold Cup day thanks to Imperial Commander, Baby Run and Pigeon Island in the meeting-closing Grand Annual.

Would it be a double or a treble this year? “Maybe it will be five,” he said. “Obviously I’d like a few winners, but as everybody says you’d really just settle for one.”

Which one? Foxtail Hill got a good mention in the novice handicap chase, a race which the trainer sees as being effectively “a lower-class version of the JLT” given that there is unlikely to be more than a 5-6lb ratings differential between the full field.

3) No rush to cement riding plans

With Sam Twiston-Davies likely to be required by Paul Nicholls for at least some of the races the stable is targeting, the trainer knows he might have to look elsewhere for riders. Happily, he’s not in short supply despite the absence of Ryan Hatch through injury.

Sam’s brother Willy has been back at Grange Farm since the end of the Flat season, taking a particularly active role in the training of the horses, and he’s likely to have a handful of rides at the Festival, while the excellent Jamie Bargary and conditional Tom Humphries are both able to fill in if required.

Nigel Twiston-Davies said he was happy to wait and see how the picture develops before starting to put jockeys’ names against his horses but Ballyoptic looks an obvious candidate to receive the services of Willy in the Sun Bets Stayers’ Hurdle, with Sam potentially required for Zarkandar in the same race, although Richard Johnson has ridden the horse in his last two starts and could also be free if required.

Incidentally, a decision is still officially to be made as to whether Willy returns to Flat riding after his working holiday. “I expect what happens at Cheltenham will help to make his mind up,” was his dad’s view.

4) Everything is awesome

Twiston-Davies had little time for the suggestion that heading into the Festival, his team had hit an uncharacteristic lull in form during what has been a year of consistently good performances.

The fact is that after his runners at Ludlow on Thursday both finished third, his runners now stand on the wrong end of a 36–race losing streak, but the trainer was happy to look beyond cold statistics.

“The people that say these things make me laugh,” he said. “Did they see Blaklion finish second in the big race at Haydock the other day? Or when Another Frontier ran when he’d gone up 7lb in the weights and was only beaten 10 lengths, was that a bad run?

“The horses have been in good form all season, and touch wood they’ll stay that way now.”

5) Doh!

Nigel Twiston-Davies doesn’t like doing interviews. He’s pretty clear about that. He says so every time you ask him for one.

Before talking to him for sportinglife.com, I asked him what had been the best question he’d been asked so far by his previous questioners and he replied “just the usual rubbish – but I’m sure this will one be a lot better”. It wasn’t. 

Fair enough, of course. Some people come across really well on TV – his two eldest sons being prime examples – and others don’t. Anyone who has had the pleasure of spending any amount of time with N T-D, especially in his home environment (the pub), will have enjoyed watching him in full flow. He has a view on everything and everyone, and diplomacy is an alien concept.

This time, however, he was just pleased to get the interviews out of the way. “That’s that for another year is it, then?” was his parting shot, before remembering that a specially-prepared line had gone to waste.

“I can’t believe I forgot to say it,” he said. “You were supposed to ask me for my best bet of the meeting and I was going to say for me to eat a pie. I’ll have to remember it for next year…”