Sam Twiston-Davies’ William Hill Blog: East India Dock is my best chance of the week

William Hill ambassador Sam Twiston-Davies previews his rides on Thursday and Friday at Cheltenham Festival.

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It’s been a good Festival so far with some impressive winners and some drama-filled races. Tuesday brought me two decent places, with Burdett Road in the Champion Hurdle. Obviously, first and foremost, it’s great to see that Nico (de Boinville), Paul (Townend) and both horses are okay. It’s one of those where you have to say well done to the Jeremy Scott team and well done to James (Owen) – you’ve got to have a go!

On the day, Burdett Road jumped well and got into a nice rhythm, finishing off really nicely. Exciting times now for Burdett Road supporters, as I think he’s going to go off and have a good Flat campaign, which is great.

Liam Swagger also performed really well in the Fred Winter, travelling and jumping well throughout, getting himself into a challenging position. Coming down the hill, he stayed on well for what I thought was going to be second, but then just got nosed out on the line, which is a shame. Hopefully, he will go and be competitive on the Flat again and, at the same time, we can look forward to some of those big two-mile handicaps next season.

Thursday, Cheltenham

I start Thursday off with Guard The Moon (2.40pm) in the Pertemps. He suffered a little setback after Aintree, and he needed the run last time and had a blow that day. He should be a lot fitter for this occasion, and we are hoping that will be enough for him to be ready for this one.

Master Chewy (3.20pm) is up next in the Ryanair. He was obviously a good winner last time over the minimum distance. Stepping up in trip here, we thought it might bring some necessary improvement to allow him to challenge in one of these incredibly tough Grade One’s at Cheltenham. So, he’s been chanced in the two-mile five-furlong race. We’ll be able to tuck him in, get him relaxed, and with two front-runners in the field, hopefully, the race will be set up to suit him.

I then have Gowel Road (4.00pm) in the Stayers’, who has been fantastic all season. It was great to get his head in front. The best thing about him is that he loves the course and the distance, so there are loads of positives. We all know that he’ll have to step up again to go and win, but you know with him that he’s incredibly consistent, and he’ll give his best whatever happens.

Friday, Cheltenham

Onto Friday, I ride East India Dock (1.20pm) in the Triumph, who I’ve always felt would be my best chance of the week. I sat on him at home recently, and he’s in great form – everyone’s really happy with him. All of James’ (Owen) horses ran fantastically on Tuesday, including the one I rode. The Triumph is always tricky – there’s a lack of form lines between us and the Irish – but I’d say he can go very, very close.

I finish my week with Norman Fletcher (2.00pm) in the William Hill County Hurdle. He’ll be a big price and needs to step up on form, but he’ll like the drier surface. I’m hoping for him to travel and jump better here. I also think the stiff two-mile trip will suit him, but as I say, he’ll have to step up from what he has shown so far.