Sam Twiston-Davies’ William Hill Blog: Hakuna-Matata going into Cheltenham

Hold on – here we go for this year’s Cheltenham Festival.

I’ve got a few nice rides over the course of the week, and am going into the first day of the Festival with high expectations.

Let’s hope the horses can show what they’re made of.

Cheltenham, Tuesday

Firstly I’m on Matata in the Arkle (2.10pm). He’s in really good form at home and has been schooling very well, while his work has also been good. He’s a horse who likes to go forward as he’s a keen going sort, but hopefully he gets into a good rhythm and can put them under a lot of pressure and then we’ll have to see how we go! Like I say, though, he’s in great form at home and, hopefully, he can run a big race.

I’m on Weveallbeencaught in the Ultima. He came back with a slightly out-of-rhythm heart after his last run, but what’s nice is he’s been to Newmarket since and has had everything put right, so I hope we can get everything back on track.

This is a big, big field handicap chase, but we know our lad stays well, has a good attitude and handles soft ground, so there are a lot of positives. It’s a tough race, but we do think this horse is better than his handicap mark, so we’re hoping for a big run.

Cheltenham, Wednesday

We run Guard Your Dreams in the Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle (2.50pm). He’s in great form at home and we hope that the step back up to 2m5f around Cheltenham will suit him well. He just found himself flat out over two miles in graded races the last twice, so going back into a handicap and back up in trip will suit really well. He’s been schooling well, so I hope he will put up a good show.