Nigel Twiston-Davies’ blog: More confident this year with Bristol De Mai

It’s another big weekend of racing and we’re looking forward to having Bristol De Mai back out.

We’ve got the likes of Good Boy Bobby, Wholestone and Our Power running at Haydock on Saturday too.

Saturday – Haydock

1:15 – Good Boy Bobby

He appeared to be doing more than enough on reappearance at Bangor and we were very pleased with that. He’s a lovely horse with a lot of untapped ability and I think he’ll be a lot better than his current mark. We knew there would be a chance of him being quite fresh and buzzy on his first run back so he had some headgear on, but that’s coming off now.

As for 2m5f on testing ground I don’t think that will be an issue given he’s beginning to settle so well.

1:50 – Our Power

Having won a nice race at Kempton at the backend of last season, we brought him back last month at Cheltenham where he ran well under a big weight.

As for handling softer conditions, he has pieces of form on soft ground so hopefully that’s not a problem and there’s every chance he can improve past his current mark.

2:25 Haydock – Wholestone and Fauburg Rosetgri

I think Wholestone badly needed the run first time up this season having not raced in almost a year.

The trouble with him is that he’s right at the top of the handicap, whether we’re chasing or hurdling. He’s a nice horse who hopefully finds a nice big pot at some point this season.

As for Fauburg Rosetgri, he’s not been with us for too long so we’re just working him out a bit.

He’s been doing everything nicely in the yard but his French form is hard to judge and we’ll just have to see how he goes. He seems a nice type and we’re looking forward to getting him going.

3:00 – Bristol De Mai

The fact that Bristol De Mai is better at Haydock on soft ground than anywhere is an absolute myth.

What is true is that he usually arrives there fitter than any of his rivals and we’re more confident this year than we were last.

Last year he had an interrupted preparation due to lameness problems and he wasn’t totally wound up. He’ll be a better horse this year but does face a strong field.

He’s still only nine, doesn’t have too many runs each season and I think there’s still plenty left in the tank. He’s been loving his work recently and is a very happy horse.

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