• Grand National hope ‘has come back and he’s fine,’ insists trainer • Twiston-Davies will have no runners in Cheltenham Gold CupA combative Nigel Twiston-Davies has attempted to shoot down concerns that Blaklion may have left his Grand National chance in the Haydock mud on Saturday. Asked at a pre-Cheltenham Festival media event at his stables in Naunton whether the Haydock race could leave a mark on Blaklion, Twiston-Davies said: “No, no, of course it won’t. You get some of the cleverclogs, I see even some other trainers, going: ‘Oh, it’s bound to leave its mark.’ Why? “Blaklion’s fine,” said Twiston-Davies, watching 20 of his horses going up his famously stiff gallop. And apart from The New One and Wholestone and Ballyoptic … we haven’t got any standout novices, for example.

Source: The Guardian February 22, 2018 16:55 UTC