Cheltenham Saturday: Sam Twiston-Davies preview

First up is East India Dock, already one of the season’s leading juvenile hurdlers and looking to further enhance his reputation and stretch his unbeaten record in the JCB Triumph Trial.

The jockey has been aboard James Owen's charge for his two wins to date over timber, including victory on the Old Course here in November.

Speaking on Friday’s Nick Luck Daily Podcast, he said: “I’m really looking forward to him first and foremost. I think it’s nice to have a go over what will be the course and distance for the Triumph.

“He just has a very nice way of going. I thought he put a good distance between himself and the others on the Old Course and he gets a go on the New Course this time which will be nice to see.

“I sat on him the other day at James’s and he feels in great nick.”

Saturday’s track places a greater emphasis on stamina compared to the one he ran over in November, but the rider isn’t concerned on that front.

“I hope it will suit him better. He won at Wincanton despite Wincanton being a quick track, I thought that obviously sharpened him up a good bit. He then was very good on the Old track as well so I hope it will enhance his chances,” he argued.

The Triumph picture has changed of late, particularly with the winning debut of Lulamba at Ascot last weekend, of which Twiston-Davies said: “I thought he looked good, he was straightforward, jumped well and had a good attitude towards it all. I think it’s very much a case for us showing a little bit more about ourselves now."

The jockey is also very closely associated with Potter’s Charm, a warm order for Saturday's closing AIS Novices' Hurdle.

Trained by his father Nigel, the six-year-old is four from four over hurdles this season and was expected to head straight to the Festival in March after winning the Grade One William Hill Formby Novices' Hurdle on Boxing Day.

His jockey explained the change of play, saying: “He had a week off after Aintree and came back into work and was doing everything well and was very, very fresh with it all. He was getting very fresh, so we thought we’d better start doing a bit more with him as we didn’t want any accidents to happen.

"So, we did a bit more work and it was really pleasing and we schooled him one day and he jumped beautifully and there was this race popping up. Then at the entry stage it wasn’t really filling so as you can imagine with Dad, he convinced Willie to put him in and then at declaration stage it looked very winnable so he went in and can hopefully do just that."

It’s a refreshing change to see a horse campaigned this way and Twiston-Davies added: “It’s the way we’ve always done things. We get them out early in the season and he’ll will be having his fifth run of the season but these good horses, some show more signs of it and would look a little bit tired, and you’ll see a handful of ours now who do need a little more time between their runs.

“But this horse seems to be taking his runs extremely well and we’re prepared to have egg on our face on Saturday but hopefully not. Hopefully this horse is quite special and can prove so.

“I hope they go a nice even gallop at Cheltenham, I wouldn’t want to be going out there to make all the running or anything like that but he is very versatile so I think we can go and have a go and see how we get on."

Potter’s Corner has already drawn comparisons with an illustrious predecessor at Grange Hill Farm, The New One.

"It’s very hard to draw comparisons, especially to a horse like The New One who was so special to all of us and did so much for us as a yard but this horse has as much potential as any young horse we’ve had for a long time. We feel privileged to have him and are just looking forward to the journey along the way,” his rider added.

Another big runner for the Twiston-Davies team on the card is Gowel Road has finished second on all four runs this season, all of which were at Cheltenham including when second to Lucky Place in the Relkeel Hurdle on New Year’s Day.

He bids to go one better in the Betfair Cleeve Hurdle in against the likes of Crambo and Strong Leader.

“I love Gowel Road, he’s consistent and tries his very best every time. It's frustrating because in handicaps you always bump into one that’s better handicapped than him but then he ran in a Graded race last time and proved he’s no mug himself," the jockey said.

“I think what you can guarantee out of him is he’ll run his very best and the others will need to run to their ratings to get past him."

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