Sam Twiston-Davies’ William Hill blog: Cautiously excited about Bristol at Lingfield

The first time I got to ride Bristol De Mai was in a novice chase at Leicester back in 2015. There was only a handful of runners, and he was by far and away the best horse. We had a great time, came home clear and it was very enjoyable.

We always knew he was very good, and everyone fell in love with him very early on in his career. He’s been great for the whole family and the yard as a team. We’re very lucky to have him and it’s really exciting to be able to have another go on him.

In the saddle or not, I’m as happy as anyone when he wins as I know how much it means to Dad, and Simon (Munir) and Isaac (Souede) are massive supporters of ours, so when you win any race for them it’s fantastic. With Daryl being off I’ve got to do the best I can. He loves the horse to bits too and I know it would mean a lot to him even though he’s not able to ride.

Sparky rides him every day and he says he’s in great order, while I’ve ridden him a fair bit at home over the years too and know plenty about him. Sunday’s task over 2m6f is a bit different to the usual, so we’ll have to sit down and talk tactics a little bit as he might not be sharp enough over the first few. It gets incredibly wet down at Lingfield and heavy ground is something that he deals with really well, so hopefully conditions will turn things into a bit of a stamina test as this is shorter than what he’s used to. It was very much the ground that explains his performance last time as we’re still seeing all the right signs at home. He’s still very exuberant with his jumping and schooling, his work is incredibly powerful, and he seems as happy as he could be going into the race.

As for the opposition, they look a decent bunch, but in his prime he’d have the beating of them all. We’re going down there with an open mind and looking to enjoy it, and most importantly hoping to come back safe and sound.

Overall, I’d say I’m cautiously excited. We’ve got to come up with a measured approach of how to tackle the race and the opposition, but at the same time it’s a fantastic opportunity and we’ve got to grab it with both hands.