Cheltenham Festival – Nigel Twiston-Davies’ thoughts for Thursday

Nigel Twiston-Davies has horses running at Cheltenham this week and here he shares his views exclusively with myracing.com about their chances and why.

Nigel’s Charity Bet

Nigel’s Charity Bet on Saturday was a winner at 14/1!

Nigel’s pick for his £25 Charity Bet for Thursday is:

1.30pm Cheltenham (JLT Novices’ Chase)  – Bristol De Mai to Win at 9/2

£25 returns £137.50 if he wins which will be donated to the Injured Jockey’s Fund

Update:

Nigel told us this morning that The New One is fine after his fourth in the Champion Hurdle and has eaten up this morning. He might not have the speed he once had so they are considering the Stayers route with him from now on, but Nigel did point out that he is still the second best hurdler in England based on yesterday’s race!

Thursday’s Runners

Bristol De Mai (9/2) – JLT Chase 1.30pm 

“He has done absolutely nothing wrong since we stepped him up in trip to this two and a half miles and we couldn’t be more pleased with him. He is certainly a very exciting horse and I think he will take all the beating here.”

Little Jon (33/1) and Astracad (50/1) – Brown Advisory Plate 4.10pm

“Little Jon rather fluffed his lines last time out at Newbury and didn’t jump as well as he can, but he has schooled well since and does seem to save some of his best efforts for this track. He has schooled well at home since that run and although he seems plenty high enough in the weights, he should still put in a sound effort today. Astracad is very similar with his liking for the track (has won here twice and placed four times), and I see him as what I call a Cheltenham Pro, though he is plenty high enough in the weights and I can’t split the two of them at home.”

Splash Of Ginge (33/1) – Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir 5.30pm

“Yet another of my runners who really likes it around here (he has won here twice from seven starts), and we are hoping for a big run at a big price today. He has been slowly slipping down the weights and is on a mark he can certainly run well from but it is a competitive race and we are more hopeful than confident.”

Nigel Twiston-Davies will be back each and every week with his thoughts exclusively for myracing.com as well as every day over the Cheltenham Festival and other major meetings! To see what our tipsters are tipping at Cheltenham, click here to see our Cheltenham Festival tips section!