Gold Cup dreams alive again for Team Twiston-Davies as yard aims to build on flying start

Nigel Twiston-Davies believes “extra numbers and young horses” give him every chance of maintaining his superb start to the season.

Twiston-Davies and his son Willy, who is playing a growing role at the yard as assistant with a view to joining his father on a joint-licence next year, were speaking to the Racing Post for a major interview in which they discussed the future at the yard, the horror of dealing with the shocking injuries suffered by head lad Richard ‘Sparky’ Bevis last season and the search for the next superstar.

There are hopes that the likes of Broadway Boy and Master Chewy could fill that particular void, but if racing is a numbers game then the Twiston-Davieses are better placed than in previous seasons with around 100 horses in training, up from fewer than 80 last term, and Nigel particularly pleased to have orders for some point-to-pointers.

"The extra numbers and the young horses give us a chance," he said, when asked about the prospect of keeping up a start that already sees the yard nearly halfway to overhauling last season’s tally of 78 winners, while Willy, in between harking back to cross-generational, family-shaping horses of the past, reeled off a list of current reasons to be cheerful.

"Jamie and Anne-Marie Shepperd are great owners and yard sponsors. They've bought a stud now and have some lovely horses. Obviously it was a blow losing I Like To Move It but they have Master Chewy, who seems to be going even better than last season, and Glynn Brae, who looks like being really nice.

"Push The Button would have needed the run first time and is very promising, while Broadway Boy looks like being a real flag-bearer for the season. He's going for the Coral Gold Cup, which will tell us whether he's a Gold Cup or a Grand National horse – or both.

"Numbers are good and we have a lot of three-year-olds and four-year-olds coming through, which is exciting. We had a big building year last year, with a lot of new owners arriving, so hopefully we can go up to 110 or 120.

"We need a new superstar, but hopefully Broadway Boy or Master Chewy could be it."

Read more from Nigel and Willy Twiston-Davies in The Big Read, available in Sunday's newspaper or online for Members' Club Ultimate subscribers from 6pm on Saturday. Click here to sign up.

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