Twiston-Davies the man in form as Razor Royale heads to Newbury

Razor Royale heads to Newbury for the Hennessy Gold Cup and the 40/1 ante-post shot is the only hope for man in form, Nigel Twiston-Davies.

Imperial Commander, Little Josh and Hello Bud have all brought big-race success to Nigel Twiston-Davies’ yard over the past fortnight, filling the Gloucestershire trainer’s pockets with £250,000 in prize money.

And the connections of Razor Royale will be hoping that the horse can run a big race in the battle to stop Denman winning his third Hennessy Gold Cup.

Despite being 40/1 in the ante-post Hennessy Gold Cup betting market Razor Royale has some top form, and the backing of National Hunt’s most in-form trainer.

The Class One winner has earned £122,422 over the fences, including wins at Cheltenham and Kempton and a fourth place finish in the Scottish Grand National, and the handily raced stayer has more than an each-way chance at Newbury this weekend.

With Ladbrokes offering a 1/4 odds for a top four place, a £10 (£5 each way) stake on Razor Royale to finish in the top four would return £55 – if Razor Royale were to win you could expect a return of £260.

But Razor Royale’s official rating of 143 means the horse will have to run 10 pounds out of the handicap, although the last horse to win the Hennessy running out of the handicap was Ever Blessed in 1999 when the ratings left him 10 pounds worse off.

With 20 horses standing their ground for the Hennessy Gold Cup at the five day stage, Razor Royale is only ahead of Rare Bob and Hills Of Aran in the betting market, but with the form Nigel Twiston-Davies is currently in, don’t rule him out of a big race.

Madison Du Berlais is well weighted and 14/1 to win in the ante-post Hennessy Gold Cup. See the ante-post Hennessy Gold Cup betting odds here.