Sam Twiston-Davies’ William Hill Blog: Casa No Mento returns to hurdles for Grade 2 glory

William Hill ambassador Sam Twiston-Davies previews his rides on Saturday at Ascot and Sunday at Windsor.

Reminder that from 8am, William Hill are Best Odds Guaranteed across all UK & Irish racing.

After what I hope will be a successful opening day of the Berkshire Winter Million at Windsor on Friday, it’s straight over to Ascot on Saturday for another thrilling day of top-class racing. Then, it’s back to Windsor on Sunday to wrap up what promises to be an exciting weekend of action. As I mentioned in my last blog, this initiative has done a fantastic job of bringing together high-quality fields, so fans can expect nothing less than some first-rate racing across the two venues.

Ascot, Saturday

Wyld Bill (12.30pm) kicks off the day for me in an intriguing juvenile hurdle. Formerly trained on the flat by Michael Bell, this will be his first outing over hurdles and his debut for James Owen. It’s always exciting to see how a horse transitions to a new discipline, and this race will serve as a valuable starting point to gauge his potential and decide on the best path forward.

It’s a competitive field, featuring the likes of Nicky Henderson’s highly regarded Lulamba, so lining up against this level of opposition will provide us with a clear benchmark. We’re looking forward to seeing how he fares and what we can take away from this initial run.

Casa No Mento (1.40pm) is up next for me in a competitive Grade 2 contest. She’s been a bit disappointing this season following a break, having previously impressed by winning a Listed race at Punchestown. Her last run over fences at Bangor didn’t go as planned, but we’re hopeful that a return to hurdles will spark a revival in form.

This is no easy task, with top trainers bringing high-class runners to these races—none more so than Willie Mullins’ Kargese, who looks a strong contender. However, if Casa No Mento can rediscover the level of performance she showed against some top-tier Irish opposition last season, we’ll have every reason to be optimistic.

Moveit Like Minnie (2.50pm) finishes my day, and I’m hoping for another step forward with him. After misbehaving a couple of times over fences at Aintree and Warwick, it was a relief to see him get around Ascot smoothly last time out. Hopefully, we can see more of the same on Saturday.

We’ve opted to step him up in trip slightly, and we’ve taken the headgear off to try and help him settle better and be more competitive. If he can stay focused and run to his potential, he should give a good account of himself and be in the mix.

Windsor, Sunday

Super Sabre Sam (1.20pm) lines up in what looks to be a competitive handicap hurdle. I’ve ridden him just once before at Taunton, and he’s definitely progressing into a solid handicapper.

That said, this race will be a real test, especially after a disappointing effort last time out. However, he showed his potential with a good win at Fontwell on his third start as a hurdler, so if he can bounce back to that level of form, that will be good to see.

Push The Button (2.30pm) takes his chance in the Class 2 handicap hurdle, and we’re hoping the addition of cheekpieces will help him put in a much-improved performance. He’s a horse we hold in high regard, but he’s been a bit disappointing of late.

Last time out at Haydock, I had to pull him up after things didn’t go to plan, which was frustrating given he’d made a promising return at Cheltenham prior to that. Hopefully, the cheekpieces will help him focus, and we’ll see a performance that better reflects the ability we know he has.