Nigel Twiston-Davies – My Runners 28th & 29th October 2017

Another winning charity bet for Nigel with The New One last week and the stable have started the winter in great form and long may that continue. With plenty of runners this weekend we had a good long chat as he was on his way to Cheltenham, and this is what we learned.

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……

Calett Mad 4.55pm Cheltenham Saturday 

“He is pretty decent over fences as you all know but I dropped him into a novice hurdle last time out at Perth over three miles and am pleased I did as he ran away with it by no less than twenty-two lengths.  This does look a better race but he is in great form at home and with some decent prize money to go for, I am hopeful he can follow up this afternoon with Daryl Jacob in the saddle once again.”

If Calett Mad wins we’ll donate the winnings to the Injured Jockeys Fund!

Other Saturday runners:

Cogry 2.00pm Cheltenham

“He is a very nice horse as one glance at the form book will tell you and better still, he does go well fresh so I am not overly bothered by his absence since finishing a gallant neck second to Vicente in the Scottish Grand National at Ayr last April. Up two pounds now, the softer going the better with this three miles and a furlong perhaps his minimum these days, but he should go well and I am looking forward to watching him run.”

Foxtail Hill 3.10pm Cheltenham

“Although at first glance there is a question mark whether this two miles is on the short side for him he is bucking and kicking at home and is very fresh so it may even play to his strengths. I am really hoping he can put in a big race today with a place a possibility, though it is a tough race that will take an awful lot of winning.”

Tintern Theatre 4.20pm Cheltenham

“No point in pretending otherwise, we are here to see if we can hunt down a bit of place prize money and that plan has fallen nicely into place with money all the way down to sixth – and just the six runners. He does look slightly outclassed but could well hit second or third which will be a decent reward for his owners and will be well deserved for such a consistent horse.”

Gaucho 5.30pm Cheltenham

“I like him a lot and think he has a pretty decent future ahead of him but you can never be sure exactly what you are up against in these bumpers with so many unknown quantities and therefore I cannot recommend him here. Well worth watching though, and one for your notebooks.”

Sunday runners:

Verygoodverygood and Another Frontier 1.15pm Aintree

“Both of them are in good enough form but I guess Another Frontier may be the better off here though I wouldn’t be surprised if they finished upsides, wherever in this field that may be. Both will run well enough and could challenge at the business end but this is a really competitive race and I’ll be happy for them to come home safe and sound – preferably with a bit of prize money as well.”

Benbens and Astracad 1.50pm Aintree

“As you may have noticed I do quite like targetting these “OAP” races when I have the right ammunition and both of these oldies will run well this afternoon. I have racked my brains and I genuinely cannot pick between the pair of them but I do think they will both run well, they are very decent horses who deserve to win more races and I would not be at all surprised if one of them took home first prize here.”

Ballybolley 2.25pm Aintree

“Up six pounds for a very comfortable win at Market Rasen last time out but this is an awful lot tougher and he will need to improve on that to get to the front as I hope. He is in the form of his life at home and came very close to being the Charity Bet this week but I doubt any of the trainers here can be totally confident and it is going to be a race worth going a long way to see, I assure you.” 

Ballyarthur 3.35pm Aintree

“He is a big strong horse but he is making his debut over fences here and is likely to improve for the experience as any horse would. I can’t really work out why he is forecast favourite other than his handicap rating which is lower than his last run over hurdles, and if he jumps round cleanly he could well win so I won’t put anyone off, but although he has schooled well this is his first time over fences in public and in front of a crowd, and I will be pleased if he enjoys the experience.”

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!