Potters Charm too strong in Windsor win

Willy Twiston-Davies is favouring Aintree over Cheltenham for Potters Charm after he opened his account for the season with a gutsy display in the Weatherbys Cheltenham Festival Betting Guide Hurdle at Windsor.

The seven-year-old won his first five novice starts last season, a sequence which included a Grade One success in the Formby Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree, but he could only finish fifth behind The New Lion at the Cheltenham Festival and came up short on his first three starts of this term.

Dropping back in trip after finishing fourth in the Long Walk at Ascot last month, Potters Charm set out to make all the running under Sam Twiston-Davies and while he was headed in the straight by 15-8 favourite Nemean Lion, he battled back bravely to wrestle back the lead.

Altobelli and Take No Chances attempted to throw down late challenges, but Potters Charm refused to bend under Sam Twiston-Davies and passed the post with a length and a quarter in hand.

Willy Twiston-Davies, who trains the winner in partnership with his father Nigel, said: “I’ve been arguing with Sam all day as he wanted to ride him aggressively and I thought if you are going to ride him from the front you have got to hack as nothing seems to be making the running then going on. Luckily the plan we came up with worked.

“He’s a very talented horse and Sam said he was idling in front – we’ll see the best of him next year once he goes over fences.”

Paddy Power cut Potters Charm to 33-1 from 66-1 for the Stayers’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival, but while Nigel raised the three-mile feature as an option, his son appears less keen.

He added: “Where we go from here we don’t know, but he showed speed there before sprinting away from Nemean Lion well. With that in mind I think we will look more towards an Aintree Hurdle with maybe a National Spirit (at Fontwell) along the way.

“We’ll consider the Stayers’ Hurdle, but he travelled like the winner over three miles last time at Ascot (in the Long Walk) then just didn’t probably get home.

“Aintree would look the more obvious one, but you have to enjoy days like today when you win a £100,000 pot.”

The winning rider added: “His season started shockingly when falling at Wetherby, so we didn’t really learn a great deal. He’s mixed it in between (distances) since then and it’s nice for him to get his head in front.

“It opens up some options now and yes he could go to Cheltenham, but it could prove incredibly difficult and it may be worth playing it in the Grade Twos in the lead-up.

“We may end up at Fontwell with a view to Aintree and then look forward to him jumping fences next season.

“I’d hope there’s a Grade One in this lad and it might be tricky this year as the races get deeper again, but I think he will be a good deal better next year when jumping fences.”