KEEPING IT IN THE FAMILY
SAM AND DAD NIGEL HOPING BLAKLION CAN ROAR TODAY...
TRAINER Nigel Twiston-Davies has experienced the sheer joy of winning the biggest jumps race of the year twice before.
But if Blaklion, ridden by his 25-year-old son Sam, can join Earth Summit (1998) and Bindaree (2002) on the roll of honour in this afternoon’s £1million Randox Health Grand National, the thrill level would reach a new peak.
Twiston-Davies said: ‘It would definitely be the pinnacle of a lifetime. When Carl Llewellyn (now Twiston-Davies’s assistant) won on Earth Summit it was wonderful — he was part of the team.
‘When Jim Culloty, who I don’t really know, won on Bindaree, it was only half the enjoyment. If you have your family involved, you have hit the bullseye.’
It might also help erase a bit of the pain from 12 months ago when Blaklion’s Grand National run was a case of what might have been.
Lucinda Russell’s One For Arthur crossed the line in front but, after hitting the front five fences out and opening up a clear and decisive-looking lead crossing the Melling Road under Noel Fehily, few would have bet against favourite Blaklion.
Certainly not Sam Twiston-Davies, who said: ‘I had fallen at the eighth and made it back to one of the big screens. I remember watching almost in disbelief.
‘My jockey head was saying there was a long way to go but it was hard not to get excited. It didn’t look like anything could beat him. But he didn’t quite see it out. For him to end up finishing fourth was quite hard for Nige to swallow.’
This season has been all about making sure Blaklion — a neat, nimble horse who has again headed the betting since the weights were announced in February — gets it right this afternoon.
Sam’s services were secured when boss Paul Nicholls agreed he was not required for his two runners. The call enabled Sam to ride Blaklion into second place in the Haydock Grand National trial, the first time he had partnered the nine-year-old since they won a novice hurdle together at Perth in September 2014.
A minor breathing operation has since been carried out to make sure Blaklion’s engine is not starved of fuel when his pistons are pumping at full tilt in the heat of the race.
The Twiston-Davies team have planned a lighter campaign than last season, but it did include a decisive victory for The Last Samuri over the Grand National fences in December’s Becher Chase. However, there has been one fewer race, including missing last month’s Cheltenham Festival.
That would have been no easy call for Twiston-Davies Snr, who believes Blaklion would have finished third in the Gold Cup had he been allowed to start.
Sam, who would have preferred Aintree to have the better ground Blaklion bounces off, especially with the gelding having to carry 11st 9lb, said: ‘You know how much dad likes to have runners at Cheltenham. The temptation for him to run him in the Gold Cup must have been massive.
‘To leave him standing in his stable during the Festival when he is one of the best horses here must have been even harder.
‘It’s a brave move to have a quiet season and wait for a shot at the Grand National.
‘His runs have been well spread out. He has been very well trained. Now I just hope he can finish it off. Blaklion has a fantastic constitution and tries very hard. He is tiny. When you go down to show him the first fence, he’ll do well to see over it, but he is in really good nick and has the right trainer for it.’
Sam’s memories of Earth Summit and Bindaree are vague — ‘I was only born in 1992!’ He can remember, along with younger brother Willy, being plonked on the back of Earth Summit on his homecoming and Willy falling off a ledge on the roof at the local pub The Hollow Bottom at the party to celebrate Bindaree’s win.
But Sam knows how special it would be to win the Grand National for his father.
He added: ‘How could you beat it, riding a Grand National winner for your father? The biggest high I have had was (Paul Nicholls-trained) Dodging Bullets winning in the 2015 Champion Chase. But close to that was Hello Bud winning the Becher Chase for dad.
‘I get a great buzz when I ride winners trained by Paul or Dr Richard Newland, but when you ride winners for your family, something else is added to it. We thrive on it.
‘It is hard not to get dad’s enthusiasm for the National. He absolutely loves it. The buzz he gets training horses for it is massive. It’s hard not to share it.
‘I dread to think what will happen if we win the Grand National. There is usually a meeting at Ffos Las the day after the race. I know Nige definitely wouldn’t make it.’
‘To finish fourth was hard for Nige to swallow’