Leading David Power Jockeys’ Cup contender Sam Twiston-Davies believes working with success-driven trainers over his career has led to him being a better jockey.
The Cotswolds-based rider – who is currently third in the Jockeys’ Cup standings behind Harry Skelton and Harry Cobden – was brought up around success in his formative years, with his father Nigel counting Grand National wins with Earth Summit (1998) and Bindaree (2002) amongst an impressive CV.
Nigel has now been joined by Sam’s younger brother Willy on the training licence and it’s a partnership that is always striving for further success.
Twiston-Davies told Sporting Life in the third of their David Power Jockeys’ Cup podcast series: “I was really lucky growing up – I remember the Grand Nationals – and we were brought up around race horses.
“We were spending time at the breakfast table with Carl Llewellyn, Tony Evans, Dave England, Tom Molloy – jockeys who rode a lot of winners and were then educating me and my brother Willy about everything, not just racing.
“We were experts in sex education well before the classes started at school – it’s a shame there wasn’t a GCSE in it!
“But Nigel has always been so successful because he has always had a go at winning the big races, he wasn’t scared of any horse.
“Willy is as bad a loser as me which is handy. Willy and Dad are very good as straight away they look to next time and what they can do to win, whereas I’m always just angry at being beaten.”
Early grounding
Twiston-Davies honed his craft in the point-to-point scene, but recognises the impact that his mum had on his early development in the saddle.
He explained: “Where my mum was so good was that she would encourage me and tell me that the point-to-points were there for me to learn, so there was no pressure as Dad was always elsewhere at the races.
“As a result, I could learn without pressure.
“I went the wrong way, failed to weigh-in, and I was able to make a lot of mistakes and learn quickly.
“So, when I became a conditional jockey, I was a lot more comfortable.”
Ditcheat role
Following notable amateur success on the likes of Baby Run in the Foxhunters’ Chase at the 2010 Cheltenham Festival, Twiston-Davies began to ride out at Paul Nicholls’ Ditcheat yard, eventually going on to become their stable jockey in 2014.
He recalled: “Ruby Walsh stopped and I came in to ride Big Buck’s one day. It didn’t go to plan in the Cleeve Hurdle but I started to get more involved at the yard and the horses were winning at the second meetings for me.
“I actually accepted a job for Dai Walters, Simon Munir and Isaac Souede, but Paul rang me back and I ended up with him.
“It was a remarkable time – we had winners on 26 Saturdays in a row – and Paul has had so many great wins.
“He was so good at training a horse perfectly to the day for one race; there were so many occasions when he said ‘this was the plan’ and it worked out impeccably.”
Returning home
Following a dip – ‘my confidence wasn’t great, I wasn’t riding at my best and I was second-guessing everything’ – Twiston-Davies returned to the family’s Grange Hill Farm stables in 2018 and has enjoyed a renaissance, including a 2023 Cheltenham Festival win on the Patrick Neville-trained The Real Whacker.
However, he looks back fondly on his time with Nicholls and their shared achievements.
He said: “I haven’t been down there [to Ditcheat] in years but we still have a good relationship and have shared lots of good memories over the years.
“He wasn’t the easiest to ride for but he was so good. He just wants to win as badly as any jockey and it’s understandable when he gets upset – you see how much it means to him.”
“Harry [Cobden] is quickly catching up Ruby Walsh, but I’m the third-most-winning jockey for Paul and I’m proud of that.”