Injuries to Ryan Hatch and his son, William has led to Nigel Twiston-Davies turning to Noel Fehily, as he confirmed booking the in-form jockey to ride Blaklion in the upcoming Grand National.
There were scenes of high emotion and jubilation when Blaklion pulled away after the last fence at Cheltenham and landed the 2016 RSA Chase title for Nigel Twiston-Davies and his team. Young jockey, Ryan Hatch gave him a fantastic ride that day, storming away from several more established rivals, jumping the last beautifully and pounding up the hill to land a maiden Grade 1 title for both the horse and the ecstatic jockey.
The Grand National has been Blaklion’s intended target ever since that famous Cheltenham Festival victory and the chance to ride in the most famous race in the world will have been a big motivational factor for Hatch going into the new season. However, a fall onboard Blaklion’s stablemate, Cogry in a handicap at Cheltenham in December left Hatch with a fractured spine and battling to save his career. Thankfully, Ryan is well on the road to recovery and he remains hopeful of returning to the sport at some point next season.
With Hatch resigned to the sidelines, Nigel called upon the services of his son William for the rest the season. Although William is better known for his Grade 1 winning exploits on the flat, he deputised brilliantly for Hatch and rode several televised winners during his stint in the saddle. He would have been his father’s first choice to take the ride on Blaklion in the Grand National, but sadly, he too has been struck down with a back injury, after Foxtail Hill efected him from the saddle during the Close Brothers Handicap at the Cheltenham Festival.
Nigel’s other son, Sam Twiston-Davies is the lead stable rider for Paul Nicholls and, although he does still ride for his father on a regular basis, he has chosen to ride Saphir Du Rheu for his boss in the Grand National. There would have been plenty of head-scratching going on at the Twiston-Davies household as they searched for a jockey to partner their stable star. However, in a recent interview with the Racing Post, Nigel Twiston-Davies announced Noel Fehily will be picking up the spare ride on Blaklion in the Grand National.
“It’s sad that Willy will not be fit to ride Blaklion after last week’s fall at Cheltenham, as we really wanted to him to ride” Nigel Twiston-Davies said to the Racing Post last week. “Sam looks sure to be riding for Paul (Nicholls), but in the circumstances I’m delighted to have Noel riding Blaklion.”
“He’s a jockey we all admire, and he had a great week at Cheltenham. When I put the idea to the owners they were very happy with it. He’s a great man to have on your side.”
Fehily isn’t a regular fixture in a Twiston-Davies saddle and has ridden just one winner for the stable in 14 attempts this season. That being said, his Champion Hurdle and Champion Chase winning exploits at Cheltenham have made the 41-year-old Irishman one of the most sought-after jockeys in the weighing room and the prospect of riding one of the Grand National favourites at Aintree is a point of great excitement for Fehily.
“It’s a great ride to pick up” Fehily said to Racing UK over the weekend. “I watched the race at Haydock – he jumped very neat and he’s got a bit of class as well. Hopefully he’ll be a good ride.”
Nigel Twiston-Davies knows exactly how to prepare his horses for the big occasions, having landed the Grand National on two occasions – with Earth Summit carrying the tag of favouritism to the title back in 1998 and Bindaree following his stablemate into the Aintree winners’ enclosure four years later.
Although the pair has never entered a race together, Noel Fehily and Blaklion will be one of the most formidable partnerships at the Grand National starting line and the former RSA Champion has to be with an excellent chance of winning landing another prestigious title when he bids for glory at Aintree on the 8th of April.
