'I hate being made a fuss of' - why Twiston-Davies couldn't enjoy Gold Cup glory

It is remembered by many as the highlight of his career – but Nigel Twiston-Davies says the day Imperial Commander won the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2010 passed so fast he couldn't enjoy it.

With next week marking the 40th anniversary of his first winner, Twiston-Davies looked back on four decades of highs and lows in a major interview in Sunday's newspaper, including the memorable afternoon at Prestbury Park when Imperial Commander's victory led to a hat-trick on the day, with Baby Run and Pigeon Island following up.

"We've had some nice winners along the way, but for me they're not always the best bits," said Twiston-Davies. "Imperial Commander's Gold Cup day, for example, all happened too fast. We had three winners, bang, bang, bang, but we didn't really have time to enjoy it.

Imperial Commander: 2010 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner trained by Nigel Twiston-DaviesCredit: Edward Whitaker

"When you win those really big races, the time isn't your own. You go from interview to interview, and if you're not very good at interviews it doesn't help, and before you know it the day's over. Often it's more fun to win a bad race with a horse you never thought would win anything. Nobody makes a fuss about it, but you've done your job well and you have time to savour it. I hate being made a fuss of."

Nonetheless, Twiston-Davies picked out Baby Run, who won the Foxhunter at Cheltenham that day under son Sam and added the Aintree version the following year under younger son Willy, as the horse whose achievements have given him the most satisfaction.

He said: "Baby Run broke down twice before I was given him and he won lots of good races, for both of the boys, so he gave me a lot of satisfaction."

As for his most important horse, Twiston-Davies added: "Mrs Muck put us on the map. She was home-bred, home everything, and she won the Long Distance Hurdle at Ascot in 1987, which I think made people notice us. The sad thing is, if I knew all the things I know now, and if medical science had known what it's learned since, she'd have been an awful lot better. She was lovely but she had her problems."

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

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