Nigel Twiston-Davies – My Runners 18th and 19th November 2017

The National Hunt season is now in top gear and Nigel was in a particularly good mood this morning as we discussed the long list of runners he has this weekend both Saturday and Sunday. Plenty to discuss we are delighted to say, so enough small talk and down to the horses.

Nigel’s Charity Bet

As always, we’ve given Nigel a £50 charity bet to place on a horse of his choice – and this week it will be on……

The New One  3.00pm Cheltenham Sunday

“What more can I say about one of the best hurdlers of recent years? We love him to bits here as you can all imagine and although he has a lot of weight this afternoon, that is because he is the best horse in the race. He is fit and well at home and I am very pleased with his wellbeing and I am pretty hopeful he can shrug the weight off and come home in front yet again on Sunday afternoon.”

If The New One wins we’ll donate the winnings to the Injured Jockeys Fund!

Saturday runners:

Ballyoptic 1.15pm Cheltenham 

“I couldn’t have him any better at home than he is right now and with trip track and going all looking ideal I have to be hopeful of his chances, but you can never be 100% sure in a tactical race like this but I’ll be disappointed if we don’t get a big run out of him, preferably a winning one.” 

Benbens 1.50pm Cheltenham

“Sadly he has to run from five pounds out of the handicap but Jamie Bargary claims three of those back and he was a bit unlucky last time when a bad mistake put paid to his chances. He has schooled well since and should do an awful lot better now with a clear round.”

Brownville 2.00pm Uttoxeter

“He has won over three miles and two furlongs and found the ground a bit too quick for him last time when fifth here at the beginning of last month. Better ground is expected here with soft the official going overnight, and he will be a lot happier now and could well surprise a few.”

Foxtail Hill and Splash Of Ginge 2.25pm Cheltenham

“Both have equal chances in my eyes with Foxtail Hill far better suited to this trip than he was over the two miles when he surprised us a little with a win here last month, and Splash Of Ginge running well here in pretty much every race he competes in. It is a tough race but we might sneak a bit of prize money between them.”

Sunday Runners:

Another Frontier and Atlantic Grey 1.15pm Cheltenham

“As you may have noticed I really don’t like choosing between my runners when we have more than one in a race, and that is the case here as well.  Another Frontier ran well last time out at Aintree over further and I’ve popped some cheekpieces on over shorter today to sharpen him up, while Atlantic Grey makes his handicap debut and could surprise them all with Tom Humphries taking eight pounds off his back.”

Ballygomartin 4.00pm Cheltenham

“Pulled up in his only point to point but he has only had the one run for us when winning his bumper at odds of 16/1 at Bangor and he seems to have improved for that race at home. I have found him a race where he can run without a penalty for that win, and he should go well again, a nice progressive sort who I have high hopes for in the long run,”

Nigel Twiston-Davies will be back each and every week with his thoughts exclusively for myracing.com as well as every day over the major meetings! To see what our tipsters are backing in all the weekend’s races, check out our free daily horse racing tips!