Broadway Boy back in the spotlight on Merseyside

Willy Twiston-Davies: ‘He’s in very good form, it’s all systems go.’

Nigel Twiston-Davies’ Broadway Boy is ready for his Aintree assignment after missing out on the Cheltenham Festival.

The six-year-old began his debut season over fences in September, winning at the first time of asking and then impressing with a trio of good runs at Prestbury Park.

He finished second to Flooring Porter over three miles and half a furlong in October before returning to the Cotswolds to win a Listed contest over the same trip and a valuable handicap over three miles and two.

The gelding was subsequently a distant third in the Hampton Novices’ Chase at Warwick but was still a popular pick ahead of the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase at the Festival in March.

An unsatisfactory scope ruled him out of the race two days before he was due to line up, but the bay has fared well since and is preparing to run in the Mildmay Novices’ Chase at the Grand National meeting.

Broadway Boy ridden by Tom Bellamy coming home to win the From The Horse's Mouth Podcast Novices' Chase
Broadway Boy ridden by Tom Bellamy coming home to win at Cheltenham (David Davies/PA)

“He’s very well, he did a bit of work on Tuesday and all being well he’s headed for Aintree,” said Willy Twiston-Davies, assistant to his father.

“His last two trach washes have been spotless and he’s in very good form, it’s all systems go.

“He’ll go for the three-mile Grade One novice.”

The Twiston-Davies team have a nice prospect in Clap Of Thunder, a four-year-old Mount Nelson gelding with four bumper runs under his belt.

He was most recently seen in the Tattersalls Ireland George Mernagh Memorial Sales Bumper at Fairyhouse on March 31, competing among a field of 14 horses, including some expensive purchases.

Under conditional amateur Toby McCain-Mitchell, Clap Of Thunder raced at the head of the field and though he was eventually outdone by an impressive winner in Willie Mullins’ Kopek Des Bordes, the third-placed horse was nine lengths behind him and the rest of the runners were even further strung out.

The bay is owned by his trainer and will go through the sales ring in search of a new home, though the family are naturally keen for him to return to the yard for them to train for fresh connections.

“That was brilliant, we were really, really pleased with him,” said Twiston-Davies.

“He bumped into a very good horse and I imagine that will be him done for the season.

“He is for sale and he will go to the sales, but we’d like to keep him in the yard if we could.

“He’s not made to be a four-year-old bumper horse, he’s a very big horse, so that just shows the ability he’s got at this stage in his career.

“We’d like to think he’d make a very nice novice hurdler for next year, we’ve schooled him plenty already and he looks a bit of a natural.”

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