Sam Twiston-Davies’ William Hill Blog: New Course ideal for Guard Your Dreams

William Hill ambassador Sam Twiston-Davies previews his rides on both Friday and Saturday at the home of Jump racing, Cheltenham.

Touch wood, things will keep going as well as they have been for me. Over the past week, the horses have seemed to be in really good nick, and hopefully things continue that way. I’ve been lucky enough to have picked up some nice winners at Uttoxeter, Wincanton and Hereford, but now all eyes turn back to Cheltenham for a busy two days of exciting racing – and quite handily, it’s only down the road!

Cheltenham, Friday

I kick off with The Newest One (2.10pm) for my dad. He’s out of the handicap, but he has been running well of late, most recently in the Amateur Jockeys’ Handicap around Cheltenham. Toby (McCain-Mitchell) got a good tune out of him the last two times he’s been out, so I’m looking forward to being back on board. Obviously, with it being such a valuable handicap, we thought it was worth taking our chance.

Up next is Torn And Frayed (2.25pm). I’ve said before that the Stayers’ Veterans’ Chase Series is a great series, and this lad took advantage of that in leg nine, winning nicely at Warwick. Hopefully he can stay in that vein of form and we’re expecting him to go well again.

Three By Two (3.00pm) goes in the Cross Country for Denis Murphy. This is the first time I will ride him, so he’s obviously not a horse I know particularly well, but on paper he’s got a very light weight of 10st 2lbs. He seems to have a real liking for the banks races in Ireland, so hopefully he will enjoy Cheltenham and we can put on a good show.

Gowel Road (3.35pm) completes my rides on Friday. He’s been second the last twice, both times around Cheltenham. There’s very little in the locker handicap-wise, but he’s just incredibly honest, stays, and jumps beautifully. He’s been incredibly unfortunate to just bump into one on his last two runs, the last time being the Skelton horse Doyen Quest, which reopposes here again. Fingers crossed the form can be reversed here.

Cheltenham, Saturday

Moving on to Saturday, Lavender Hill Mob (12.10pm) begins proceedings in the Triumph Trial. He was a good Flat horse, rated as high as 96 in that discipline. I spoke to James (Owen) on Wednesday and he’s done a lot of jumping since, so hopefully he can go one better than his second at Newcastle this time around.

Hillcrest (12.40pm) runs in the Handicap Chase and he’s one many are looking forward to seeing on the track again. He had an incredibly long lay-off prior to his recent run at Haydock where he ran well for a long way. I think Cheltenham on the new track will suit – jumping and galloping looks his forte – so there’s every reason why he can run a big race here.

Up next, I have Regal Renaissance (1.13pm), who won really nicely at Warwick at the back end of November. She didn’t jump as well through the middle of the race, but she came home really well, pulling clear. She’s schooled well since then, and it’s obviously a tough race with her being forced to step up in class. But hopefully she can be competitive once again.

Guard Your Dreams (1.50pm) runs in the December Gold Cup. He was an International winner once upon a time. Obviously, he’s running in a competitive handicap once again, but we just think the new track at Cheltenham will be ideal for him. We feel the more stamina-laden track has the potential to suit him. It’s a competitive race, yes, but one that hopefully will suit him, so there are solid each-way claims for him here.

Finally, I have Master Chewy (2.25pm), who rounds off my two days at Cheltenham. He was massively unfortunate to fall on Saturday in the Tingle Creek at Sandown, but he has shown no ill effects, and he’s shown some really good form. I’ve ridden him out for the last few days, and I schooled him on Wednesday, so there’s no harm in giving this valuable handicap a good go. We’ll see.