Sam Twiston-Davies’ William Hill Blog: Broadway Boy has big Newbury target

William Hill ambassador Sam Twiston-Davies previews his rides on both days of the Cheltenham Showcase meeting.

The first meeting of the season at Cheltenham is always something we look forward to. The course should be in excellent condition, and it’s exciting to have some of the horses around the track.

Everything is going well at home, and the yard has been performing strongly in the early part of the season. We still have some promising horses set to make their returns, including Master Chewy, who is likely to kick off his campaign in a valuable handicap chase at Ascot the weekend after Cheltenham.

Everyone at home is looking forward to the season, including my brother Willy, who plays a crucial role as my father’s assistant , and I expect him to be on the licence for the new season. However, let me be clear: you will never see my name as a trainer!

On a personal note, I am incredibly excited about this season. It truly feels like the jumps season is fully hitting its stride now. Another meeting I always look forward to at the start of each season is Aintree, particularly the Sefton and Becher meetings. They are usually great fun and give us a taste of the bigger fences without the added pressure that comes with the April meetings at Aintree. So, those are definitely ones to look forward to as well.

Cheltenham, Friday

Push The Button (1.15 pm) will feature in the opening race at Cheltenham on Friday. He ran exceptionally well at this meeting last year, finishing fourth in a novice hurdle, although he did get a bit out-paced that day but stayed on really nicely. This time, we’ll likely adjust our tactics and aim to have him closer to the pace and hope to have him good and handy. He has come a long way and learned a lot since then, making this a promising starting point for his season. I expect his long-term goal to be the Pertemps at the Festival, a race that should suit him well.

I’m looking forward to getting back on Potters Charm (4.10 pm) on Friday. He was incredibly impressive in his bumper and followed that up with a solid win at Worcester. He’s come on fitness-wise since those victories, so I expect him to continue improving with every run. This race seems like a suitable opportunity for him, and I’m eager to see how he performs at Cheltenham. It will be a chance for us to learn more about him, as I believe he has the potential to be quite a smart prospect moving forward.

Cheltenham, Saturday

Guard Your Dreams (1.10 pm) will run in the opener on Saturday at Cheltenham. It was fantastic to see him get his head in front again at Warwick earlier this month. He’s a horse with heaps of ability, having won an International Hurdle for us. Jumping-wise, he’ll have hopefully improved having had the experience. Obviously, it’s a big jumping test around Cheltenham, but he ended up doing very well at Warwick, gradually warming up as the race progressed, and he is another that will have significantly improved fitness-wise. While the race looks competitive on paper, I’m hopeful it will be within his capabilities.

I must commend Cheltenham for offering two £100,000 handicaps—one for the two-mile chase on Friday and the other being this three-mile chase on Saturday. We are eager to support both events. Broadway Boy (2.20 pm) seems to have a great starting point here, as he thoroughly enjoyed the track last season. His long-term aim could well be the Hennessy at Newbury’s Winter Festival, but we certainly won’t turn our noses up at a £100,000 handicap at Cheltenham for starters. He’s looking in good shape and schooled nicely the other day, making this an excellent starting point. Last season, he won on his reappearance at Worcester, finished second to Flooring Porter on his second start, and then claimed victory at Cheltenham during the November meeting. It was a fruitful start to the season last year, so we hope for a repeat of that!