NO GOLD RUN FOR MAI
Twiston-Davies star set to miss Festival.. and National
BRILLIANT Betfair Chase winner Bristol De Mai will not run in the Cheltenham Gold Cup and is unlikely to take his chance in the Grand National.
Connections of the Nigel Twiston-Davies-trained sevenyear-old have scratched him from next month’s blue riband race and instead opted for the Grade One Betway Bowl at Aintree in April.
“Everything is fine but, after a meeting with all owners, we’ve decided not to go for the Gold Cup after all,” said Twiston-Davies (right). “We are now going to Aintree for the Bowl — but probably not for the National.”
“Blaklion is our main one in that race and he’s in good form.”
Bristol De Mai had looked a serious Gold Cup candidate when storming to victory in the Betfair Chase in November but has since been well beaten in the King George VI Chase and the Cotswold Chase.
Back-to-form trainer Colin Tizzard is ready to step up Dutchman’s Aintree preparations by running him in the Betfred Grand National Trial at Haydock on Saturday.
The eight-year-old emerged as a contender for the marathon contest when convincingly winning the Peter Marsh Chase at the Merseyside venue last month. Connections are keen to get another run into Dutchman before the big day in April, with the Betfred Eider Chase at Newcastle on February 24 the other option.
Tizzard’s son and assistant, Joe, said: “He’s our leading Grand National hope. He’s got to have a run, so he will either run on Saturday or go up to Newcastle.”
Stablemate Cue Card is on course to bid for a third victory in the Betfair Ascot Chase at the Berkshire track on Saturday.
He is now aged 12, but Joe Tizzard said: “We haven’t written him off by any stretch of the imagination, so we are looking forward to running him.